Realization
by The-Amazing-Gracie
Summary: Book One in ROTP. The world is turning upside down at the Fenton's, and one little halfa caused a domino effect. Follow the Fenton's as they try to adjust to their new Realizations, like unknown daughters, royal backgrounds, relationships, and gradations. DxS, TxOC, JxOC, Rate and Review!
1. One: The Unexpected Information

_**Let me set the story up for you. It's about two years after Phantom Planet and the gang is all older. Sam and Tuck are both 18. Danny's 17 and turning 18 in about a month. Jazz is 19 and Danielle is 12 still. It'll explain that later. The reason that they're that old is because it seems like the TV show lasted a couple of years with the way that the characters grew. The ships are Danny/Sam and Tucker/OC. I don't have a cover yet! Let me know if you have one that I can use without sealing somebody's art!**_

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Danny's POV

My family had brought her in almost a year ago, calling her my cousin in the company of others even though my family and a few of my close friends knew differently. Dani was originally a clone, a mistake Vlad made as he tried to make the perfect half ghost son. He had created a little girl instead. She is smart, funny, confident, and defiantly unique. The entire Fenton family loves her but she does come with a few surprises that are going to change our lives forever. With how much she's shaken everyone up it's hard to believe that she's only 3.

"Danny! Help me!" I heard a shrill voice scream as I was trying desperately to get my homework done. It had been almost an hour since the last attack and I needed to get some of my math homework done before the next skirmish. It was raining so I was still damp from the last fight with Amorpho.

"Coming Dani!" I called out with a sigh as I walked through the wall that separated our bedrooms. The small girl was sitting on her bed, her entire lower body encased in ectoplasm.

"I lost control again." She whispered, her face pink with embarrassment.

"It's not a big deal Danielle." I assured her, "Losing control of your powers is completely natural." The fact that it was normal didn't make her feel any better as I helped her out of her self-made prison. Dani still rubbed her fingers together to help with the little bit of blood that she had flow through them. I continued to sit in her room with her as she got comfortable again. That was something that anyone could have done with her but the only people that she actually trusted were Sam and I. I knew she trusted me because I was the only person that had actually stuck with her from the beginning. She and Sam had gotten close with girl stuff or something like that. I really didn't know how she did it but something about Dani had clicked with Sam.

"Did your package get here yet?" Dani asked me desperately. The fruit loop known as Vlad had done something weird to Danielle when he made her so she was still just as small as she had been when I first met her a two and a half years ago. Using the Superhero card I convinced the CIA to send me a USB full of copies of Vlad's work and notes. All of them. Hopefully with that information I could help Dani and make sure that I had all of Vlad's allies in the Ghost Zone.

"Sorry Ghosty Girl, not yet." Danielle frowned before her head whipped around. She gasped.

"Someone's at the door!" she squealed in excitement. The girl shot down the stairs in milliseconds as I followed her walking. I wasn't using my powers just in case I needed to go save the town again or something. A groan of disappointment escaped Dani's mouth. "It's only Sam Danny."

I ruffled up the girl's hair that wasn't pulled back as I passed her on the way to Sam. "There's no 'Only Sam' Dani. That would be like saying the sun is 'Only Warm'. You're understating the awesomeness that is Sam Manson." The girl only rolled her eyes as I kissed my girlfriend.

When I looked back at her a few minutes later Danielle was smiling. "I'll be up in my room reading if you guys need me, I'll hear the mailman when he comes." The small halfa flew to her room and her door closed softly.

"I don't know why she likes reading so much, I hate it." I stated matter of factly as I rested my forehead on Sam's. "What caused you to grace me with your presence Shade? Not that I'm complaining or anything." I whispered softly in a faux British accent. Sam copied my voice as she replied.

"I was just in a good mood because it was raining today so I thought I would come over just like I do every day to see what my superhero was doing. I figured I would hang out with some of my undead friends and maybe stay for dinner." I groaned at the thought of what I had been doing ten minutes ago.

"Math. Hate it, but you can't get a job without it."

Sam smirked as she pulled me up the stairs. "Come on Glowstick, for every three questions you get right I'll give you a kiss, for every one you get wrong I get to kick you in the shin with my combat boots."

"How is that fair?"

I was done with my homework half an hour later. My lips were tingling and I had bruises forming on my shin but I truthfully didn't care. I almost wished that Mr. Daskalos gave out longer homework. Just as Sam and I started walking down the stairs for a snack the doorbell rang. I threw up a shield of ectoplasm as Sam ran to go grab the door.

"Danny! I'm going to get you for this!" Dani screamed in annoyance, her fists pounded noiselessly on my shield but we both knew that she couldn't break it. I was stronger than her. I walked down beside Shade who was holding my package already.

"Go on Phantom, sign for the box." Using my other name was a warning, something that we had started using after the disasteroid. That meant that this UPS guy was an enthusiastic fan. Wow. I gave the guy a small smile as he handed me a small clipboard and pen.

"Here you go Mr. Phantom. It's an honor to meet you Mr. Phantom. Can I get an autograph Mr. Phantom? You're my daughter's hero and it would mean the world to her Mr. Phantom." Even though my secret had been out for a couple of years it still felt weird every time someone asked for my autograph.

Sam was already on top of it, she snatched a piece of notebook paper off of the table by the door and quickly drew my logo before handing the paper to me. She knew just as well as I did that whenever someone said that I was their kid's hero I made sure I gave them the signature.

"What's her name?" I asked softly, setting the page on top of the clipboard.

"Emma, my daughter's name is Emma." The man said happily as I signed both of my names before handing his things and the notebook paper to him. What I had written was simple, To Emma, From Danny Fenton/Phantom and a simple smiley face but the guy still looked like he won the lottery.

"Thank you Mr. Phantom. Thank you." I smiled shyly. No matter how famous I was I always hated talking about myself.

"It's really not that big a deal." I called out as he walked back to his truck. I turned back to Sam and she was still smirking as I closed the door.

"Come on Glowstick. Let's go download this to our laptops before Dani destroys something." She kissed me on the check and stomped up the stairs in her heavy boots, leaving me to follow her up the stairs after I let down the shield. Dani flipped from the top of the stairs so that she was sitting on my shoulders. This was something that she did often. She enjoyed it because it made her so much taller.

"I told you I would get you!" She declared smugly as I carried her up the stairs. I could have made her move if I wanted to but it didn't really bother me carrying her. "So. Which files should I start reading first?"

It surprised me that she wanted to read them but I definitely wasn't going to let her. "Danielle," I started slowly, "Sam and I were planning on going through the files ourselves. Vlad was such a fruit loop that we don't even know everything that's in these files. Plus, he was so mean to you that we didn't want you to have to mess with his stuff anymore than you have to." Danielle gripped my shoulder to steady herself as I turned the corner into the hallway.

"This is your nice way of saying that I'm not allowed to touch the stuff isn't it?"

"Yes. Yes it is Ghosty Girl. I'm dropping you off here." Danielle sighed as she launched herself off of my shoulders and did a 360 flip before landing on her feet. She gave me a quick hug.

"Call me when you find something important. I'll be in my room reading." She walked through her door and I did the same. Sam was plugging in our laptops into the wall by my bed. When she heard my footsteps she had a small smile inch its way onto her face.

"Come here Danny, I've got the file downloaded on my laptop and it's downloading on yours. Let's see if we can find what we need by dinner. I want to be on some topic other than ripping ghosts apart molecule by molecule."

I laughed and Sam joined me. I was glad that when I started dating her she got just a bit happier. We laughed more. "Sure Shade, I'm not the biggest fan of that topic either. I've also been waiting for a while to take you flying in the spring rain. It's fantastic and I can't do that if we're sitting in here."

I got lost in the files and truthfully, they were horrible. What he had written in them was disgusting and I was glad I had told Dani not to go near them and I'm pretty sure that the information on clones wasn't the goriest stuff. I turned on some Dumpty Humpty to make sure the part of my brain that wasn't focusing on the files wouldn't start to obsess over the details of what I was reading. Sam shivered beside me.

"This stuff is enough to creep me out and that's saying something. Having Vlad in space is probably best for him, if he was down here he would probably be put on death road now that the world knows about this stuff." I silently wrapped an arm around her to comfort myself just as much as her. Having her warmth beside me made me feel safer somehow even though I knew that Vlad was in space and had no way of getting back to Earth.

I had finally gotten through the information on the other clones and gotten to the information on Dani. The more I read the angrier I got, I was very protective of the little girl I had come to love and constantly had to reassure her that she wasn't a monster because of the things Vlad had done. Things that still gave her nightmares. I had almost wanted to stop reading about the experiments on Dani and how Vlad thought of her as a mindless puppet created to do his bidding. I finally found some important entries and I had to read them several times for the information to sink in.

**April 4th 2006**

**BUTTER BRICKLE! I have made a terrible miscalculation! The shirt I stole from Daniel had more than just his DNA on it. It also had the DNA of a female on it and it resulted in Clone 4 being female. I need to find the DNA of the females that Daniel comes in contact with to see who the other parent of this mistake is and if I can even use her in my experiments.**

**June 9th 2006**

**It has taken months but Valarie has finally been in contact with all the females in Casper High. I have the required data to figure out if I can salvage Clone 4 or if I need to make another one. If I can't salvage her I'll trick her into doing the hard part of getting more of Daniel's DNA before melting her down.**

**July 14th 2006**

**The other DNA used in making Clone 4 belongs to Daniel's little girlfriend Samantha. How ironic that the girl Daniel is in love with is the involuntary donor parent for the girl. Hopefully the fact that she won't grow for another 12 years should be useful in keeping her from rebelling. It was genius stalling her growth so that she won't grow until she's been in existence for 12 years. Her mind needs to catch up with her body considering that she's only a toddler in a pre-teen's body.**

**October 13th 2006**

**FRUIT CAKE! The girl inherited her mother's rebelliousness and has gone and has decided that she is better with Daniel. And she melted the good clone too. Now I need to wait for her to come back and beg for mercy before I can melt her down and make the perfect son.**

I pressed the print button immediately and yanked the piece of paper off of the machine. "Sam!" I whispered franticly, I tried to be quiet so that Dani wouldn't hear us through the wall. I knew that she was probably trying to ease drop on us to see if she could find any information out before we told her.

The Goth girl gazed over at me in surprise. "What's up? Did you find anything out?" I nodded quickly,

"Yeah, we can stop looking for tonight. I found what we were looking for and more. Just read this!" Sam picked up the page and started to read. She scanned the page quickly and looked up at me in surprise.

"Holy Hell." She whispered. We both nodded and stared at each other thinking on how we were Danielle's parents and how were we going to figure out what to do. We got the idea at the same time. We both jumped up and opened my door at the same time before running down to the lab where my mom was working on one of her solo projects as my dad was testing his weapons away from the house so he wouldn't hurt me.

"Mom!" I called out nervously as we thundered down the stairs. "We need to talk to you!"


	2. Two: The Grand Plan

Sam's POV

Danielle is ours. These three words were bouncing between Danny and I yet neither of us had a problem with it. We loved that little girl with the bright blue eyes and I was pretty sure that we had both known for a while that it was more than just a sibling or a cousin thing. That's why we were running down the stairs. Maddie looked up immediately as she heard our call. When she saw the looks of urgency on our faces she dropped what she was doing. "What is it Kids? Is something wrong with one of the girls or Tucker?"

Glowstick seemed to lose his confidence for a quick moment, he slipped back into the shy teenager instead of a heroic ghost hybrid as the importance of what was going on smacked him in the face. I decided to let him have his quick moment of panic. "Nothing is technically wrong Maddie, Danny and I just need to talk to you about something. We don't want anyone to be listening and we figured because you were the only one down here and because the girls were busy here would be a good place. You may want to get comfortable though, this isn't going to be a quick chat."

Maddie pulled over a couple of chairs. She sat down in one as Danny and I shared the large Jack Fenton sized chair that was definitely big enough for two teenagers that didn't mind being close to each other. My ghost boy wrapped an arm around me, he seemed to have shaken himself from his daze. "You need to read this before we figure out what to do. If you don't you'll get the wrong idea and ground me until I'm 40."

I watched Danny give her the sheet of paper that made me both excited and angry. I was excited because it told me that Dani was my little girl but it made me angry because it told me Vlad basically forced Dani into being 12 until she was much older. Maddie scanned the page with wide eyes.

"I don't know what to start with, the DNA information, Dani's growth, or the fact that I'm so surprised that the girl isn't having nightmares."

"She is." Danny cut in. "She comes to me a few times a week in the middle of the night. She has gotten Sam on that one night She, Tuck, Valarie, Cara, and I had that sleepover." He chuckled softly, "I don't know if that's ironic or if it makes sense that the only people that Dani trusts completely us."

I set my head on Danny's shoulder before I let out a nervous laugh. "At least we have a solid reason for Dani to stop calling herself a useless clone. She has two parents, clones only have DNA from their genetic cookie cutters." Maddie sent me a look that betrayed the fact that she was so surprised.

"You guys are going to tell Dani? What are you guys going to do? It's not going to be easy to be her parents and the media is going to rip the three of you to pieces when they hear about this. You know that they're going to find out sooner or later. You two can only handle so much." Glowstick and I looked at each other for a millisecond before our decision was made. Danny had the hero look in his eyes again, it was the look he had every time he decided that he was going to do something no matter how much everyone told him it was impossible. There was something new joining the hero look too, he was protective and more mature. He looked like a tiger ready to destroy anything that got too close to his cub or the rest of his pack.

"She's our little girl. We're going to tell her and work some things out with her. Are you okay with us bringing her down here? Not only will she flip but I almost want to check something in her blood." Maddie nodded, knowing that we wanted to be alone she went upstairs. I called Dani down using special nickname only family and close friends called her.

"Ghosty Girl! Come on downstairs! Danny and I found some information!" The girl was in the basement in a flash and I made sure that I closed the door so that no one would ease drop on us. Dani pushed a few stray hairs out of her face and pushed them back into her bangs nervously.

"What kind of information did you find? Are you going to be able to help me grow or is it something different?" I invited Dani to come sit with Danny and me with a wave of my hand. She climbed on top of us and tilted her head back so that she could see us both.

"It's something different but we have figured out why you aren't growing." Danny said gently. He passed the paper to the girl sitting between us and she read it slowly. The minute it took her to read was the longest of my life. Danielle stood and looked at us as soon as she finished reading. She was studying us to try to find out how we felt about this new information.

"You're my parents?" She asked in disbelief. She had a small smile on her face. "You're my family?" I smiled at her amazement and happiness. Glowstick smiled and ruffled up her hair.

"Apparently. It does make sense though and you do have Sam's ears and mouth now that I'm looking for the similarities. The shade of black in your hair is a bit closer to hers than mine too Ghosty Girl."

Danielle scuffed her heels against the floor and smiled at the use of her special nickname. The questions started pouring from her mouth as she realized that she had a real family with a squeal. "What about school? I'm a freshman this year. I'm going to the same school as you guys and Tucker. What should I call you guys? Should I still call you Danny and Sam or should I call you Mom and Daddy? Am I going to get picked on at school because my parents are so young? How are we going to make me grow? Who all knows about this? Will your parents like me Sam? If I'm your guys' kid how come I'm half ghost and not a forth ghost?"

Danny and I both reached over and set a finger on Danielle's lips at the same time. "Woah Ghosty Girl." Danny laughed, "Give us a minute to answer your questions before you add anymore." He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I think that the school thing should be fine, I can get it so that we can continue to have lunch with you if you want and people already know that we are close. When they hear that your parents are two of the three founding members of Team Phantom I'm pretty sure that most people will be perfectly fine with you having us as your parents. The ones that don't and that don't keep their mouths shut will probably be talking with us before apologizing."

I reached over and took Danielle's hand, she jumped at the touch even though I had held her hand before. She was seeing me as her mom instead of her cousin's girlfriend now. "Dani, if you want you can still call us Danny and Sam until you get used to the idea of having parents but when you are used to it I would be okay with you calling me Mom."

"Being called Daddy would be kind of weird at first but I'll get used to it." Danny said with a grin. Danielle sat back down next to us, content with the fact that we actually did want her.

"Who else knows about this?" She asked nervously.

"You're the second one to know." I assured her. "The only other person that knows is Maddie. The other Fenton's aren't going to think this is the weirdest thing in the world. My parents are going to be another story. They may or may not freak out. It may be the funniest thing that I have ever seen when they find out, or not. After that we can figure out who to tell or even if we want to tell people."

The little ghost girl didn't find it funny that I was joking around about my parents. "What if they kick you out or ground you or something. I don't want to get you in trouble." She whispered. Danny stood up to grab something from the other side of the lab leaving Dani sitting on my lap.

"Let me tell you a secret." I whispered back. "I don't really care if I get in trouble. My boyfriend and daughter are ghost heroes. They can't really keep me locked up in my room. And if they kick me out I happen to be pretty close with Maddie and Jack. I don't think that Glowstick would be opposed to me being here either. He kind of likes me a little." Danielle laughed, a real, carefree laugh that I had never heard come from her.

"Yeah, he does like you just a little bit." Danny came over from where he was digging on the other side of the lab holding a contraption that I knew Maddie built just from the way it looked. It didn't have Jack's face on it. He knelt down in front of us.

"Dani, I want to check something really quick but to do it I would need to prick your finger. Can I do that?" Danielle nodded and Danny carefully took her small hand in his. Watching her over the last year and a half I had been able to tell that even though she was whip smart Danielle really wasn't 14. She acted 5, maybe 6 years old at the most. She winced as Danny picked her finger and a drop of bright green and red blood bubbled out of the small pinprick. Danny didn't waste any of the bloody ectoplasm as he set the small machine over the girl's finger. He waited a moment before his eyebrows crunched up.

"What?" I asked, I almost wanted to laugh at the look on his face.

"It just looks like ghost DNA is dominant over normal human DNA. I wasn't expecting that." Dani pulled us both up with her mass amounts of strength.

"Well it doesn't surprise me! Now let's go upstairs I want to see Jazz's reaction."

Danielle was right in the fact that everyone's reactions were amusing. Jazz did a classic spit take and Jack tried to convince everyone that we should celebrate with fudge that he just found out that he had a granddaughter. Maddie quickly steered everyone to the table for dinner before Jack could break out his fudge collection that he replenished weekly. Maddie passed me a salad as everyone else ate burgers.

"So." Jazz said as she wiped her face with a napkin. "What are you guys planning next? Every few months you have a new surprise. The accident, Dark Da-" Danny cut her off with a look as she tried to say that name. He hadn't even told his parents about that encounter. I wasn't sure if it was because he was guilty or terrified. "I mean Clockwork, then you saved the planet from Vlad, brought Dani here a few months later and now you're finding out that she's your guys' kid and that I'm an Auntie. Are you trying to make my brain hurt form all the weird?"

Danielle looked down at the table in embarrassment and I set a hand on her shoulder. "She's calling your Dad weird." I whispered. "Don't worry, you fit perfectly in our weird crazy family. I've been an unspoken part of it since I was five. You'll get used to the weirdness that comes soon." She gave me a quick smile and took another bite of her burger. Her eyes were drooping even though it was only seven at night.

Danny brushed some crumbs off his hands and onto his blue jeans. "Nope, the strangeness just has a habit of following me. I don't really think I have a problem with it though, without it I wouldn't have gotten my powers, Shade and I wouldn't have gotten together and there would be no Dani. I think that's enough awesome to balance out the weird for me." Danielle seemed to almost glow when she heard Glowstick say those words.

"Thanks." She breathed.

"You're welcome. I'm glad I have my girls. Now are we playing Doomed or watching TV tonight before I take Sam home? It's still raining so I still get to take you flying in the rain." He exclaimed. I shrugged as Dani jumped up and down.

"Doomed! You said that Sam was one of the best Doomed players you've ever seen and I still haven't played with her yet. My character's still only at a level three." Danny ran his hand through his hair.

"You promised not to tell her that." He muttered, his face flushed. I kissed him on the cheek.

"How about you two go get Doomed ready while I help your mom carry the plates. I want to have a quick word with her. Is that cool with you Glowstick?" He quick pressed a kiss on my lips and jumped to the door with inhuman speed.

"That's cool, we'll be in the in the basement with the laptops getting everything ready." They flew off and Jack skipped over to the Op center. Yes, I did say skip. Some things can never be unseen.

I started to walk around the table and picked up the plates, making sure that I didn't get any of the meat juice on me. Putting the plates in the dishwasher would only take a minute, I just needed an excuse to talk to Maddie with Dani out of the room. "My parents are going to be ticked." I started with a sigh. Maddie nodded and set a hand on my shoulder as I continued to talk. "I've decided to tell them tomorrow. Dani figured out that they weren't going to be pleased and she's never even met them. I was wondering if they flip out and do something drastic like kicking me out…"

"If you could stay here." Maddie finished for me, the look in her eyes was warm and motherly. It made me feel safe and more comfortable than I ever did with my mom.

"I could sleep on the floor," I added quickly. "Or in the Op center."

"And then you and Danny would continue to sneak around in the middle of the night so you can sleep in the same room?" She asked me with a smug look. At my reaction of confusion and panic of being caught Maddie chuckled softly. "You don't think that when I found out Danny was a ghost that could come and go as he pleased from the house that I wouldn't make something to alert me when he leaves did you?" She pushed up the sleeve of her hazmat suit and revealed a little blue metal bracelet.

"We don't do anything!" I promised franticly. "We just, with all of the danger I guess we both feel better when we can watch each other's backs. Most of the time Danny insists on sleeping on the floor." Maddie smiled.

"I know you don't do anything. You two aren't those kind of kids. I also know that neither of you plan on stopping staying together at night. You also don't plan on stopping being a couple. If you do have to stay then, yes, I know that you and Danny would probably share a room."

I took my next breath a bit easier. "Thank you. I can pay some kind of rent if you want, ghost fighting doesn't really pay but-" Maddie cut me off.

"Sam. You're juggling being a student, a hero, a girlfriend, and now a mom. I think that's enough on your plate even without a job. You don't need to pay rent. Now go play video games with the Dannys."

I raised my hand in salute. "Yes ma'am I will!"

Two hours and five new high scores later Danny and I were just getting ready for him to take me home as Dani tapped me on the back. She was in her pajamas and was holding a little green stuffed puppy that looked a lot like Cujo. I figured that Danny gave it to her. "Could you guys, maybe, tuck me in?"

Her question surprised me and Danny. "Don't you usually tuck yourself in Ghosty Girl?" I asked gently. She nodded.

"Yeah, I just wanted my parents to tuck me in tonight." Danny and I glanced at each other before waking back into Danielle's room. I tucked the sheets around her and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Goodnight Danielle." Danny and I said in unison.

"Goodnight Sam. Goodnight Danny."

We walked out of the room and Danny transformed back into his Ghost form. I set my laptop bag in the corner of his room. I wasn't going to need it tonight and I was going to be back here tomorrow anyways. Danny picked me up carefully and I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Guess what?" I whispered as we flew through the wall and into the rain. The late April night was just hot enough for the cool rain to be pleasant on our skin as we flew. Late April was kind of an understatement, it was the thirtieth. The rain was whipping around me, sticking my hair to my face.

"What Shade?"

"Your mom knows that you've been sneaking out in the middle of the night. I didn't rat you out, she has some machine that lets her know when you use your powers to sneak out of the house." Danny groaned.

"How grounded am I?" I smiled. I knew I was being cheery but I had gotten to have a nice day.

"You're safe this time Glowstick. I would recommend being a bit more careful though, okay? On the bright side she's not forcing you to stop." Danny took his eyes off the sky as we floated in place for a moment in front of my house. "Not stopping is a good plan. Do you want me to stay again tonight?" I shook my head with a soft frown and a grim idea of how tomorrow was going to go in my mind.

"Not tonight. I have a feeling tonight is my last night here."


	3. Three: Reactions from Many

**Danny's POV**

I woke up with somebody shaking my shoulder to wake me up. "Danny! Danny! Wake. Up." I sent a weak shield up to make whoever was touching me stop. In response I got an ecto-ray in between the eyes. I sat upwards and readied myself for a fight, my hands flickering with a ghostly green light. Dani was standing beside my bed with her index finger smoking. When I saw what she was wearing I did a double take.

"Dani? Uh, you look different." The girl smoothed her shirt nervously. She was wearing jeans that were such a pale blue they were almost white and her tank top was striped with neon green and bright pink. Her converse were the same green as her shirt and so was her headband that held back the stray strands of hair that had already escaped from her braid. Most of that was normal, the pink was not. Dani hated pink and this was the only pink she owned. Most of her shirts were mixtures of the neon green, dark purple, or bright orange.

"I remembered that Sam said that her parents like pink. I'm actually kind of glad that Jazz convinced me to get this stupid shirt. Anyways you need to put a shirt on. We need to pick up Sam before school." I smiled tiredly, glad that I had fallen asleep in my jeans.

"Some deodorant wouldn't hurt either, give me a minute. Did you eat?" The young halfa rolled her eyes.

"You ask me every morning Danny, you don't need to flip. I ate some cereal." I stood and kissed the top of her head before grabbing a clean black tee with a neon green collar and my famous logo in the same hue right smack dab in the middle of the chest.

"Get used to it Ghosty Girl, I have a valid reason to take care of you now. You're my little girl and I don't have to pretend that I haven't wanted to take care of you." I picked a protein bar out of the box on my desk and scarfed it down before going ghost and picking up my backpack. "Are you ready Ghosty?"

Dani swapped into her alter ego and picked up her polka-dot book bag. "I hope so. Get going before I change my mind."

Just a few minutes later we landed on the Manson's porch. Dani stood off to the side as I knocked on the door. Jeremy gave me that same glare he gave me every morning.

"Hello Daniel. Samantha said that the two of you are coming over to talk to us later. Nothing's wrong, correct?" I nodded quickly.

"Of course not Mr. Manson. Sam and I haven't done anything wrong, illegal, or even mildly inappropriate."

"That's good. I want to keep it that way Daniel. I don't want any grandchildren for a very long time." Danielle squeaked but I was the only one that heard her as Shade trudged down the stairs in her heavy combat boots. Her black pants had little strips of bright green plaid around the cuffs of her legs and her waist. Her shirt still cut off at her stomach. It was still black and purple with the same little purple oval in the middle. The sleeves stopped halfway down her bicep. Her ebony locks were pulled back into a loose pony tail as her hair had gotten much longer since we were freshman. Her gaze rested on her dad and she frowned. Her grip on her old spider backpack tightened.

"Dad, I told you nothing was wrong. Stop interrogating Danny." She increased the speed of her step and kissed her dad on the cheek before calling back to her mom and grandma. "I'm leaving! See you after school!" She closed the door and a whimper escaped Danielle's mouth. Tears were leaking from her eyes.

"They're going to flip out. He just said that he didn't want any grandkids. They don't want anything to do with me." I reached over to comfort her but Sam was faster. She was standing in front of the girl in an instant.

"Hey." She soothed. "He didn't mean that. He was just making sure that Danny wasn't being an inappropriate teenage boy." She wiped the tears that had spilled from Dani's eyes away. "And if I had to choose between being here with them or being with you and Danny I would choose you two."

The girl wrapped her arms around Sam. "Please don't leave me." She whimpered. Sam was startled by the hug but she still returned it.

"I won't, don't worry." I walked over to them and wrapped my arms around my girls.

"Neither of us will."

We dropped Dani off at her locker before rushing to homeroom. We were almost late but Lancer didn't care if we talked with Tuck just as long as we didn't scare the other students with our paranormal activities and that we were on time for attendance. I was glad that he gave the three of us those few minutes when we didn't have to focus on thirteen different things at once. We slipped into the back of the room with Tucker. He looked normal, just like he did before my secret got out other than the fact that he was wearing a top hat. That and the fact that he had a girlfriend.

"Hey Danny! Sam! That was a close one. You were about 30 seconds from Lancer giving you a detention. Was it ghost trouble again? Please say yes. Cara's sick, I'm bored out of my mind and it's not even 9am yet." He asked at a low tone so that the other kids wouldn't hear. I shrugged.

"Not really." I passed him a copy of Vlad's log that I dug up yesterday with the information on Danielle. "This is what we were working on. Helping out Dani, she had a little panic at the Manson's this morning."

Tucker skimmed the page and burst out laughing. The rest of the class turned and looked at him like he was off his rocker. Sam shot him a death glare.

"Tuck! It's on a need to know basis and the whole school doesn't need to know!" She hissed in a whisper. Tucker gazed at the floor but he wasn't really embarrassed.

"Right. So, you guys are Dani's parents. That sounds weird. So what are you going to do? Besides figuring out how to make some papers and stuff so that she's your little girl legally I mean." He whispered. Sam and I gazed at each other and I smiled.

"We're going to be the weirdest family in existence. The only people that know so far are you, my folks, and Jazz. We're telling Shade's folks and Grandma after school." Tucker winced.

"That's going to be fun. How'd Dani take it?" Sam shrugged and shifted nervously before grabbing a pencil and opening her notebook to doodle.

"Pretty well, I think. It kind of helps that she trusts us but I don't think that she's going to be telling the world anytime soon. When the word gets out, and we all know that it will, things are going to be strange." Tuck passed me back the sheet of paper and I tucked it carefully in my pocket. Things would get rough if people found out, Dani would stand out even more.

"And how is anything going to normal at all now?" Tucker pressed on. I glared at him and he stopped asking questions. "It's going to be Phantom normal, isn't it?"

"Probably." Sam muttered as she twisted her ring. The bell rang and three of us jumped.

"Dang it, I have algebra. At least it's the only class I don't have with one of you two. "I muttered as I picked my books off of my deck and made sure that I had a thermos clipped onto my jeans. Tucker smirked at me before tipping his hat dramatically.

"Sorry Man, I've got to get to language. Try not to die without me." I shook my head as Sam closed up her notebook and picked up her stuff.

"Let me know if you get any homework Glowstick, I'll help you again." Sam said with a smirk. I pressed a quick kiss on her lips that was much too short for my taste before rushing off to math. Suddenly, it didn't seem quite so evil.

After math I had science with Shade. I ran out to the other math room so that I could meet her there. We didn't have lunch at the normal time because I had convinced Principal Ishiyama to put us in for lunch with the freshmen so that I could keep an eye on Dani when she started at the beginning of the year because she was so small. I was even more glad I did that now. I held out a hand for Sam and she grabbed it before walking with me to my favorite class of the day. We were going to chemistry.

When I heard the assignment for the day I got even more excited. We were going to make things explode. Shade saw the excitement in my eyes and she rolled her own.

"Why are you so excited, you're not even aloud to touch the vials Danny?" I shrugged.

"Who cares, the only thing that could go wrong would be my partner. I hate it when Ms. Haze picks our partners." Sam squeezed my hand.

"You'll only have to deal for an hour, after that we can go to lunch and we'll only have two blocks left before we tell my parents about Dani. After that we can hang out, okay?" I nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Ms. Haze clapped her hands and everyone stopped talking. Even though she was small Ms. Haze wasn't a teacher that most kids messed with, she was scary and knew how to make explosives.

"Okay Class, I know it's Monday and everyone's in a mood so I figured that we would do something fun today. If you bothered to look at the board you would know that were causing chemical explosions today. I also talked to Mr. Lancer and he had agreed that Mr. Fenton may use the vials today if you are extremely careful. I'm going to pull names out of a hat for partners. No switching or complaining." I raised my hand and waved it up in the air, careful not to hit any of the glass around me.

"Can we use our own chemicals?" I asked excitedly. Ms. Haze looked at me nervously. She knew that I grew up around inventor parents and I knew about which chemicals were safe and which weren't but I was also the resident hybrid superhero that had really crazy ideas sometimes.

"Which chemical Mr. Fenton?" She asked carefully. I tried a new trick I had been working on and only transformed my hand. A white glove shimmered into existence as my eyes glowed a bright green.

"Ectoplasm." The look in her eyes changed from fear to curiosity and I knew that she wouldn't be able to resist. Ectoplasm was so new to science that it had almost never been experimented on. "I'll be really careful and I won't hurt myself or anybody." She finally nodded and gave up. I smirked in victory as Ms. Haze pulled names out of a hat. My victory was short lived.

"Danny Fenton and Dash Baxter are the first set of partners." I squeezed Shade's hand one last time before I walked over and sat next to Dash. How he had gotten into the advanced science class I don't know but somehow he did and now I was stuck with him until lunch.

When my secret got out Dash never stopped bullying me. Instead he decided that it didn't matter which of my forms I was in, I wasn't worth his respect. "Hey Dan." Dash said with mock excitement. My voice was cold when I spoke.

"Dash. My name is Danny. Pass me the knife with the blue handle." He handed me the knife and stared at me as I grabbed a test tube.

"Why the blue one? Why are you acting like a freak? What are you doing?" I sighed, ignoring the second question.

"I'm using the blue one because the tools are color coded. This one is sterile. I'm trying to get a sample of ectoplasm but it's kind of hard when you're talking. Hold my glove please." I handed him the piece of cloth before I carefully sliced my thumb open. I was using a normal knife so it didn't hurt as I squeezed the green liquid that swirled with red into the test tube. As soon as I was done squeezing all I had to do was close my eyes and focus before the cut healed itself and was covered with a new layer of soft pink skin that contrasted with the rest of my rough hand.

"So that's what ghost blood looks like?" Dash asked, slightly in awe of the supernatural liquid.

"Kind of, this is halfa blood. I'm not a full ghost, that's why it still has flecks of red in it. If I cut my human hand the blood would have green flecks in it. I have a feeling that when we mix it with some normal human chemicals that are unpleasant to me it should cause a reaction. If nothing explodes by the last ten minutes of class we'll mix it with bleach and that will." I turned my hand back to that of a normal human and stopped glowing so that people would stop staring.

"How do you know it will explode?" Dash asked skeptically. "If you don't know then you should just stop pretending to be a know it all. Has it happened to you before?" I decided that my energy would be better spent doing science instead of being cold with Dash.

I nodded. "It happened. I got into a fight with Skulker. He's that hunter ghost that we ran from when we shrunk. I tried to clean my gloves so that Sam wouldn't flip but I ended up blowing them up. Now, what chemicals should we mix first?"

We got along pretty well until we had to clean up. When I got back from cleaning up the flasks we used I saw Dash reading a sheet of paper, his eyes were wide. I patted my pocket that held Vlad's log and I swore under my breath. The pocket was empty.

I rushed over to Dash and held out my hand for the page. He smirked before returning to reading. "Just a minute Dan, I'm almost done reading this. Vlad really was a creep wasn't he?"

"Dash. Where did you find that?" I growled.

"In your pocket. I took it when you weren't looking. Just another second Dan, I'm on the last paragraph."

"Dash!" I demanded, my patience gone. "Give it to me. Now!" I demanded, ticked. Dash handed me the page and I used an ecto-blast to burn it to ashes in my hand. The bell rang and I pulled Dash into the hall and shoved him against a locker.

"Two things Baxter. One, you will never talk to ANYONE about what you just read. Or else. If word got out it would be hell for Dani. She's already different. I want things to stay as normal as they can for her. Two, NEVER call me Dan again! My name is Danny. You can call me Danny, Daniel, Fenton, Phantom, or even call me Ghost Boy like the people in the ghost zone do but not Dan. Dan is the name of an evil monster that almost killed my family. Not me. Do you understand Baxter?"

He nodded but he still didn't look like he believed me when I said that I would mess him up as I dropped him. Sam came up behind me carrying our books. "What happened to him?" She murmured as she saw Dash take off. "You didn't use your powers on him did you Glowstick?"

"No." I replied sharply. "I should have. He took the log from my pocket and read it while I was washing the flasks and beakers. I burnt the page to ashes and gave him a warning." Sam cringed.

"I'm glad I'm not Dash right now. You can be scary when you're angry." I took a deep breath and calmed myself down.

"Sorry, let's just grab some lunch and get through the rest of the day." Shade nodded and pulled me to the cafeteria after sticking our stuff into our lockers. I ran through the line and went back to Sam where she was sitting on the other side of the cafeteria where we almost didn't stick out. I bumped her in the shoulder as I sat down.

"Hey. What are you thinking about?" Sam shrugged and set her head on my shoulder. It had ticked her off that I had shot up and was 5' 11" and that meant I was six inches taller than her. She told me that I needed to stop growing often.

"Everything. Just everything. I just didn't think that this is where we would be at 17 and 18. Superheroes with a daughter so old it's physically impossible. Tucker being the mayor. Yet somehow were still in high school." I laughed and saw that she was smiling too. Unfortunately our lunch couldn't be uneventful. I heard a girl cry out.

"Danny! Help!" I looked over and the 9th grade bullies were towering over Dani. They knew that she wasn't allowed to use her powers to fight back and with her being so small they thought of her as an easy target. I stormed over and stood up to my full height with Sam following right behind me. Dani hid behind me, she had a cut on one cheek and a bruise forming on the side of her face. They must have gotten the hits in before she turned intangible.

"Who started this? I know that it wasn't Dani. Tell me who it was or I get Mr. Lancer to call all of your parents." Two of the guys pushed another forwards and he glared at me from where he had stumbled.

"Yeah, I started it. The little freak wouldn't show us her powers so I made her." I felt my eyes glow green and I had to fight to stay calm. Even the fact that Dani was a superhero wouldn't stop people from picking on her.

"What's your name?" I demanded. The boy had to fight to keep his tough guy face on, fear flashed through his eyes.

"Tommy, Tommy Baxter. Dash's brother."

Fantastic. That meant that Dash would be on his side. The fact that his big brother was the quarter back gave him an immunity from most of the teachers. "I will be calling your mother." I told him. "Now scram and go back to your lunches before I get any angrier!" The boys scattered and I turned to Danielle. She was still hiding behind me, refusing to move until she knew the boys were gone. Sam and I knelt in front of her.

"Are you okay?" Sam whispered quietly enough that only the three of us could hear her. Dani nodded.

"I'm fine. It'll heal by tonight. Got to love superpowers." She laughed softly before wrapping her arms around us. Her voice was even quieter when she spoke again. "Seriously Mom, Daddy, Thanks." It was the first time she called us that and it felt weird in my ears. It was a good weird though.

"You're welcome Ghosty, Do you want to go to the nurse?" Danielle shook her head.

"I think that I'm going to go sit with Jake and Lacy again. Thanks anyways Daddy. I'll see you both after school." We nodded and Dani walked off back to where her friends were sitting. The two kids looked nice, normal but nice. Sam wrapped her fingers around mine.

"Are those two little words going to help you as much as they're going to help me the rest of today?" I nodded as I watched Dani sit with her two friends.

"I'm pretty sure that they're going to help."

The rest of the day was almost uneventful, the only ghost disturbance was Sydney Poindexter and I'm pretty sure he only came to scare the bullies. Unfortunately Tuck had work at the mayor's office after school and couldn't come with us. He was going to go see Cara. At least he only worked at the office on Mondays and Thursdays. He would be free to hang with us tomorrow. After school the girls and I actually decided to walk to Sam's place. I think that it was because we wanted to stall for just a few minutes. Dani wouldn't stop playing with her braid or the scab that was on her face from the fight at lunch. We stood on the porch and everyone took a deep breath. "You ready Danielle?" I asked. She nodded.

"We're going to do it quick right? Like pulling a Band-Aid off?" I nodded but Sam answered first.

"We have an extra copy of the paper we showed you last night that Glowstick didn't burn because he got angry. We'll show it to them and then we'll talk to them about it. If you don't want to listen at any time just tell us and you can go to my room, Okay?"

"Okay."

We opened the door. "Mom? Dad? We're home." Sam called out.

"We know." Her parents were sitting in their living room with her grandma sitting next to them. Ida was a lot less angry looking than Jeremy and Pamela. We sat down on the couch in front of them with a very nervous Dani sitting between Sam and I. "What did you need to tell us about?" Pamela asked coolly. She had decided even before she heard anything that we were in trouble. Shade pulled the page out of her pocket and handed it to her Mom and Dad. They read it at the same time and their faces paled before they handed it to Ida.

"Please tell me this is a joke." Jeremy asked, he looked so white that he could have been a drawing.

"Danielle, why don't you go upstairs? Daddy and I can take care of this." Sam instructed calmly. Danielle stood to leave but Pamela stopped her with just a few little words.

"She's a freak." Dani stopped dead in her tracks. That was the word that everyone that ever picked on her used. I stood up and wrapped my arms around her as her bottom lip quivered.

"Come on Danielle, let's go upstairs." I said gently.

"No. I want to hear what she says." I wanted to tell her that she needed to go upstairs but Sam sent me a look that told me to drop it. I brought Dani back to the couch where she sat up and watched her newly discovered family.

"Danielle is not a freak." Sam snapped. "Dani is a 12 year old girl. She has ghost powers and her existence isn't normal but she is not a freak." Her parents weren't listening but her grandmother was. Ida set a hand on Sam's as Pamela and Jeremy panicked.

"If this gets out our reputation is ruined. The few respectable people in this town will shun us. No more country club, no more home owner's society, no more parties. No nothing." Pamela whimpered before Jeremy's voice steeled. "You're going to need to choose Samantha. Are you going to stay with your mother, grandmother and me or are you going to go with your boyfriend and the freak little girl? We tolerated the boy because he saved the world but it is clear he's bad for you."

Dani started to flicker in and out of visibility because she was so nervous. Pamela noticed. "I told you she was a freak. She doesn't even qualify as a human girl. Your father's right Sammy, chose. Your parents who have always been right behind you or the ghost freaks? "Sam stood up, I could tell that she was holding back a laugh at the fact that her parents and had that they had always been behind her. They had never accepted her for the amazing person that she was.

"Well guess what? I've made a choice. I made the right choice." Her parents seemed satisfied.

"Good, now make the freaks go outside." Her mother instructed smugly. In her mind she had just gotten rid of the creepy ghost boy. Sam laughed hollowly.

"Just like I thought, you only associate with people who you think are perfect. Guess what, I didn't chose you. I packed my bags last night. Glowstick, why don't you and Danielle go grab the duffle bags on my bed?" I got the message and Dani did too. I heard the muffled sound of Sam and her parents arguing as I stepped in Sam's room. Her walls were almost bare and so was her closet. The things she left were things that her mother picked out. Pink things. I grabbed two of the three bags on her bed and Dani took the last one. As we got back to the living room Sam was giving her mom and dad the look.

"Bye. I'll try to come and see you sometime Grandma." She took a bag from me and walked out the door with one last glare at her parents before Dani and I rushed out the door behind her. I picked Shade up and she held me tightly, burning with anger. I readjusted my hold on her as Dani and I rose in the air before flying home, away from the hate that Jeremy and Pamela had directed at Dani and me.


	4. Four: Our Release

**Sam's POV**

I stormed into the house followed by Dani and Glowstick. Maddie set me a questioning look and opened her mouth before Danny shook his head violently, cutting her off. He crossed the room and stood by my side, holding my hand and shouldering the weight of my bags with his other arm. Maddie sighed. "I'll take it that didn't go well?"

"They made me choose. Them or Glowstick and Dani. I chose wrong in their eyes so we grabbed my stuff and left. It's not a big surprise and it's not like I'm a little kid anymore, I'm 18 for Pete's sake I just didn't think that they would actually make me choose." I huffed. I was getting close to the end of my rope for holding my emotions in and Danny knew it. He set a cool hand on my shoulder.

"We're going to my room to calm down and unpack. If it's not an emergency we should probably be left alone." He informed his mom. I was led to the stairs as my anger overwhelmed my other senses. I was seeing red and my heartbeat was pounding in my ears. I walked down the familiar hall without thinking and Danny had to open the door so I wouldn't run into it. I heard the lock click behind him. "It's just me Sam, you can drop your walls."

I fell backwards onto his full sized bed. "Holy Hell. That really just happened." I exclaimed as Danny moved around his room at lightning speed. He shoved the stuff that was in the top three drawers of his dresser into the others, tossing old ghost stuff and bubble gum wrappers into the trash. My mind numbly registered that he was making room for me.

"Yeah, that really just happened." He pushed his clothes on hangers to one half of his closet before sitting down next to me, he swept a hand across my forehead and brushed the stray hairs that had fallen in my face to the side. "Are you going to let yourself drop the shield you're holding and let this stupid dam break. You know you'll feel better when you do."

"Damn it Glowstick!" And in the words of Danny Fenton, the stupid dam broke. Danny wrapped his arms around me as I cried and I didn't struggle. I was strong most of the time but I was still human. I needed to release sometimes. Danny said some of the comforting words that you always find stupid until you really need to hear them. I held on to him for about ten minutes until I was out of tears. I then proceeded to smack him on the back of the head. "You know that I really hate you right now, right?" He shrugged.

"I figured that you would say that. I'm going to find some way to convince my Mom and Dad to let you stay here. Now, are you going to help me put your stuff away or am I going to feel really, really awkward?" That made me laugh.

"Chill it Danny. I talked to your mom last night. You don't need to convince her to let me stay. And even though I know that you would take one for the team and put my bras away I'm pretty sure that you can fold jeans instead."

"Boo." Danny sighed. I laughed even harder at that.

"Yeah Boo. You don't get to mess with my clothes. Now come on, let's get started."

The putting away of clothing turned into and all out laundry war quickly. I was losing because I was the one that couldn't turn intangible whenever I had a tee shirt thrown at me. "Danny Fenton! I'm going to get you!" I tried to throw a pair of jeans at the ghost boy but he only turned intangible for a split second before picking me up and wrapping his arms around me and I wasn't able to move. He picked me up and unlocked the door, kicking it open with his foot.

"Hey Danielle! Come and see the rare, giggly, happy Sam!" Dani came out of her room and stared at the two of us.

"Oh my gosh. You're giggly. The Queen of the Goth is giggly." I kicked my legs in an attempt to get loose from Glowstick's grip. Instead Dani jumped on the top of Danny and me, knocking us to the ground. Then Danny decided to tickle us. Dani and I must have been squealing pretty loudly because Maddie came upstairs.

"Is everything okay? You sounded like someone was murdering a giant hamster." I raised my hand sheepishly.

"I was the squeaker. We were putting my stuff away at first but then it turned into a laundry fight." Dani decided to throw me under the bus, she pointed at me.

"It's her genes that made me a squeaker." Glowstick snorted.

"That is the lamest excuse I have ever heard. Come on girls. I think that we should probably finish putting Shade's stuff away before I destroy you in the tickle fight of the century." I bumped him in the shoulder.

"Dream on Ghost Boy. Time to work." We walked back into the room and started picking the stuff up. Fortunately, we had left the things that weren't clothes in the bag so nothing got broken.

_

"Mom? What's this?" I turned and saw Dani sitting by the only duffle bag that we hadn't opened. On the top were two things. My locked diary and my photo album. I finished folding the skirt I grabbed and stuck it in one of my mostly empty drawers before walking over to her. First thing I did was take the diary away from her.

"That, is not for touching. The other book, is my photo album. I've stuck pictures in there from when I was your age and Danny first got his powers." Danny sat down beside us.

"I haven't seen this thing in years. Do you still put pictures in this thing?" I nodded and turned to the latest page. It held pictures from about a week ago.

"Does that answer your question?" Dani looked ready to burst with excitement.

"If I point to the pictures can you tell me the stories? Pretty Please?" Danny ruffled up her hair.

"I'm cool with it if you are Shade." I shrugged.

"It could be fun." Dani flipped through the pages randomly until she found a picture she liked. She stopped on a picture with Danny, Tucker and I all crashed on the floor in Danny's room when we were about 16. Even asleep Danny and I had our fingers intertwined. I smiled before standing up to continue my work.

"That one. You're all so tired, like you just took down a mountain or something." Danny stood too, a smile snaking its way to his lips.

"Well, it was a lot bigger than a mountain. That's the day we got back from Antarctica after the disasteroid. I had just given Sam her ring back a few hour before that." I rolled my eyes.

"Danny, let me tell the story behind this picture and you can talk about the next one." The ghost boy shrugged before I started to talk about the picture. "Like Glowstick said, it was the day get got back from Antarctica. They had made us all go straight to the ceremony as soon as we got off the plane. Why they decided that Tuck was going to be the mayor I'll never understand."

Dani giggled as she continued to look through the photos. "Don't leave me hanging, what happened next Mom?"

I shook off one of my shirts before placing it on a hanger and in the closet." Like I was saying, they had shipped Tuck, Danny and I to the ceremony just as soon as we got off the plane. Tuck did the statue dedication thing, I really don't know how that worked. Danny and I snuck over to the hill that overlooks city hall so we could talk. I was more than a little excited because Glowstick kissed me before almost dying."

Danny walked over and placed a soft kiss on the top of my head before hanging another shirt in the closet. "Almost dying brings some excitement to pretty much every day." I rolled my eyes and Danny was ready for it with yet another smart remark. "You know if you keep on rolling your eyes like that they're going to get stuck."

I elbowed him in the stomach. "Shut up Danny, I'm trying to tell a story." He smirked and continued to put my stuff away, he was quieter though. "I'm not going to go through all the mushy stuff for you Danielle but after Danny gave me the class ring we went flying and we were ambushed by reporters. Of course that meant that instead of flying around normally we snatched up Tuck and flew back here. Then we were so tired that we all just decided to crash on the floor. I have a feeling that your Auntie Jazz came in to check on us and took the picture then."

"Crazy sister. It's not like we were doing anything. Tucker was there."

"Glowstick, stop talking."

"Yes Ma'am."

We finished putting my clothes away a half hour later and the only stuff left to put away was the bag of things that Dani was sitting beside. It was the bag with my jewelry, first-aid kit, and the few little trinkets that I cared about. Suddenly a crash was heard on the floor below us. The three of us shared a look before we ran.

We skidded into a stop in the kitchen, where Jack, Maddie, and Jazz were staring at a broken table. "Jack," Maddie sighed. "I told you that you got too much fudge."

The man pouted. "But Maddie, it was on sale. I saved us lots of money. Now I'll have lots of energy to fight the post human consciousness that plagues our son, granddaughter and his friends." Jazz just walked away muttering under her breath, cursing herself for taking a couple of weeks off from collage as Danny melted the table back together with his ecto-ray. It looked like he had melted it more than once and the thought amused me.

I glanced at my phone, 5:30. "Hey Maddie? Why don't I make dinner tonight? I won't even make you eat tofu." Maddie was skeptical at first but Danny and Jazz quickly convinced her that I was a good cook. I was okay I guess but Maddie was not. She couldn't cook to save her life, something that I found surprising that someone with that much brilliance couldn't make pasta without burning it. Jazz couldn't either. That meant that Danny and I cooked as much as we could so that we could eat something that didn't taste like a science experiment.

I steered Danny into the kitchen. "Get the chicken Glowstick. You deal with the meat and I'll deal with the other stuff." I commanded. Danny saluted me.

"Yes Ma'am. What am I making out of the chicken Chef Sam?" I rolled my eyes. "Sam, I really am serious when I say that you need to stop doing that all the time." I only stuck my tongue out at him.

"We're making Alfredo goofball. I know how to make the sauce without milk or tofu and I can just keep the chicken out of mine." Danny nodded.

"M'kay. You do your weird sauce stuff and I'll be over here being somewhat normal for once." I smirked at him.

"Danny, you're never normal." The comment didn't please him. Glowstick glared at me.

"It's time to shut up Sam." I snickered.

"You wish."

Cooking dinner didn't take too long and we didn't make too much of a mess as Danny and I didn't throw flour at each other. Danny placed the food on the table as I finished cleaning up my sauce pot. "Hey Everyone! Food!" Danny hollered. His parents ran up from their lab with lightning quick steps as Jazz and Dani walked down from their rooms. Not surprisingly, Jack was first at the table. "So Danny-boy, what are we eating?"

He gestured dramatically to the food. "We are having... Alfredo with chicken on the side! Now, let's eat!" The food was passed around and I did find a way to make the sauce taste somewhat normal just like I said it was, my boyfriend ate his words on how my sauce was weird. He tapped my shoulder as we neared the end of the meal.

"Sam?" He asked softly. He wasn't whispering but He was pretty quiet.

"Yeah Danny? What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you would let me take you on a date tonight." I laughed softly.

"Typically people get less nervous as they ask the person out after having done it 50 times or more. Duh, I'll go with you but why tonight? It's a Monday night in early May and even if it is much warmer than usual it's not really a typical date night Glowstick." I shrugged.

"I just figured that we could use a release, to not be heroes in the spotlight for an evening. I talked with Tuck and as of 9:30 when Dani goes to bed we're off the clock for ghost hunting. He and Cara are covering for us. And Shade, we're never going to be a typical couple."

I tangled his fingers with mine under the table, oblivious to the fact that Dani was staring at us. "I know Glowstick. If you'll remember I'm the one who convinced you that being abnormal was awesome. Are you going to tell me what we're doing tonight or not? We're only going to have a couple of hours before curfew at midnight." He sighed, like he was wishing that night could last forever.

"I know, and No, I'm not going to tell you what we're doing. It's a surprise had at the ready for a few weeks. I just hadn't found the right time yet." I echoed his sigh.

"Are you at least going to tell me what I need to wear, like if I'll need to wear sneakers instead of combat boots or if I'll need warm clothes or something?" Danny chucked softly.

"A tank top and shorts should work well for when we're there but it's going to get cooler as the night goes on so bringing a pair of sweat pants and a sweat shirt wouldn't hurt. I can drive if you want but I'd prefer to fly." I pressed a soft kiss on his lips as everyone else left the table.

"I'd love to fly. Now we need to finish homework or we'll never be allowed to leave the house tonight."

A couple hours later I was standing with Danny in the living room. "Mom! We're leaving." Danny called. She ran up from the lab to see us off even though we would only be gone for a few hours.

"Do you remember the rules Daniel?" I noticed that she was asking Danny and not me instead. This was the one time that I liked stereotypes. He ticked the rules off on his fingers.

"Yes Mom, No illegal activities, no inappropriate activities, be back by midnight, call if a ghost comes and it's making me late. Before you ask, both of us have finished our homework and we have our phones." Maddie shook her head with a smile.

"Okay, okay, be safe. See you soon."

Danny shouldered his backpack that I wasn't allowed to look in and picked me up bridal style before flying me out the door. "So, now are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"No." Glowstick said with a smirk.

"But Danny, just one hint?" He crumbled.

"Fine. You've been there before, I've just added a couple of things." I wasn't pleased with the tiny clue.

"Glowstick." I whined as we turned into the neighborhood that I had lived in when I was about five, I moved from there to the house my parents lived in now about a year after I met Danny.

"It's cool, you can stop your guessing. We're here."

"What?" Danny landed in front of a nice pool that was closed for the night. I hadn't been to a public pool in years because people swarmed Danny whenever he tried to go and I didn't want him to feel left out. "Danny, you know that your mom said nothing illegal."

He pulled a small key from my pocket. "I'm fully aware of that, which is why I called in a favor." I gave him a blank stare before he explained. "You can thank Skulker for this one, why he wanted to hunt someone at a pool is beyond me but I caught him and I was told that when I needed a favor to call in by the owner. I figured that swimming without everyone staring at us would be a nice change. He turned the pool on early just for us. The water's heated so you won't freeze Sam, no worries."

He opened the door and led me inside as I was still in shock that Danny would have something planned out this well. He took off his shirt and I was silent for a very different reason now, this time it was because I was staring at Danny's muscled chest. Ghost hunting had made him reasonably fit. He wasn't the scary body builder ripped, on the contrary he was actually quite lean but you could easily see his beautiful muscles under the lace of scars all over his torso. I was one of the few people that he didn't mind seeing his scars even though sometimes he didn't have a choice but to take his shirt off. I loved being the hero's girlfriend. "Danny." I said with a smirk.

"Yes?" He asked curiously, just as clueless about how handsome he was with his dark obsidian hair and ocean blue eyes as he had been clueless about liking me when we were younger.

"Catch me if you can!" I tossed my sweats to the dry tile by the wall and took a running leap into the pool. Danny turned on a dim lantern so that it was light enough to see but still dim enough so I didn't feel like he was ruining the darkness that is night before setting my clothes on top of his bag just in case when we started splashing we got water over there.

"Don't worry, I'm coming!" He jumped into the water and swam after me even though I was already on the other end of the pool.


	5. Five: Midnight Fire

Danny's POV

"Glowstick, I'll make a deal with you. If you can catch me you can kiss me. No powers though." I pulled through the water with a grin as Sam tried to swim the other way.

"I won't need them." I swam over to the deep end and tagged Sam before wrapping my arms around her waist. Her arms looped around my neck so that the only thing that we were doing to keep ourselves floating upright was kicking our feet. "Gotcha." I whispered in her ear as her damp hair brushed across my face. "Pay up Shade."

The payment was worth the work. She kissed me and I felt like I was melting. Her lips were warm and sweet, kind of like dark chocolate. She ran her tongue over my lips one last time before leaning away so that we could breathe. "Do you want to play again?"

I leaned my forehead against hers. "Why don't you pay me in advance?" Just as Sam placed her lips on mine a frozen mist left my lips. We both pulled back in surprise. I pulled the puppy dog face. "Can't we just ignore it for now? Please Sam?" I could tell that she really did want to ignore it just like I did but we both knew that if people were in danger that we couldn't just sit around.

"Let's just see if you can hear who it is okay? If it's someone weak then we can leave it be." I nodded as I pushed myself out of the pool and Sam followed my actions. She quickly walked over to grab a towel for herself. I closed my eyes and the world zoomed in and out. I used a new power I had gotten about six months ago. It enhanced my senses and it made the whole world different. My senses were more enhanced than that of a normal human without concentrating but when I did. Wow.

I could see every grain of sand in the concrete. I heard the sound of the water dripping off of Sam's hair and onto the concrete as she stood behind me. The smell of chlorine was enhanced so much that it made me want to be sick. The water dripping on my skin was a soothing sensation but my wet blue jeans were even more scratchy and annoying than they would have been if I was feeling everything normally. Thankfully taste was my haven, I could still taste the creamy chocolate of Sam's kiss.

I stopped letting myself be distracted and focused on hearing. It would be most effective as I had no idea where the ghost was or even what it was doing. Chaos was just a block away. People were screaming and running around in panic, a woman was trying to call 911 but her phone was taken by one of the ghost's duplicates, what really stuck though was the hiss of fire and the chuckling of the ghost, egging on the fire and feeding it with lightning even though there was no rain or thunder. Vortex.

I didn't need to hear any more. I jumped up from where I had been sitting and shook the water out of my hair as I let go of the power. "Sam! What time is it?"

She pulled her phone out of my bag and glanced at the screen. "It's only 10:30 Danny." I transformed into Phantom and I was smacked in the face with the smell of smoke. The fire was getting bigger.

"Sam, call my Mom. Tell her that we're going to be late. Vortex set a building on fire. People are getting hurt." Sam grabbed my shoulder and flicked me in between the eyes.

"Danny! Breathe!" I took the required deep breath and my mind was slightly calmer. Sam nodded. "Good. Now, are there firefighters on the way?" I shook my head.

"Vortex took their phones away." Shade's expression hardened. She picked her phone up again with her other hand and dilled the emergency number.

"Where is he Danny? What did he set on fire?" I closed my eyes in concentration and they flashed open when I realized where he was. The perfect place for his lightning to cause pain.

"He's at the apartments on 5th avenue. Uh, they're called Sunset Place I think." Sam held her empty hand out so that I could pick her up and we could start flying.

"Hey Marissa." The fact we called often enough that Sam knew the names of the operators was yet another sign that we weren't normal teenagers. We were heroes ready to help. She finished explaining was going on just as we landed. Shade pressed the off button on her phone and placed a quick kiss on my lips before handing me her class ring. "Be careful and don't get hurt. You know the drill." I pressed another quick kiss on her lips.

"I'll be back, I promise." I didn't say anything more as I flew towards building, I didn't need to. I promised that I would be back and that was it. I would be back.

I tucked the ring into one of my pockets in my suit and pulled up my hood. Every year on my birthday since the disasteroid Sam had given me new threads. The clothes for my human half were usually similar, some kind of shirt with my logo on it and jeans. My suit was more extravagant. Sam designed it last year and we didn't have any intention of changing it again for a long while. The top was a black muscle shirt with a loose hood, my logo in bright white over my heart. The pants were loose for the sole reason that I refused to wear anything constricting. I needed to move. I had two thin white belts that held my Fenton thermos and white combat boots that I tucked my pants into completed the look. It wasn't fire proof but that would have been asking just a bit much. At least when I was in ghost mode I didn't need to breath quite as much.

I charged into the building with my hands glowing bright blue as I smothered out some of the flames as I moved through the building. I don't know how I knew but I was positive that it was too late to save the building. That meant that I needed to get the few people that were left in here out. "Can anyone hear me?" I called out desperately. The fire was loud enough that I couldn't hear the sounds that humans made as they functioned.

"We're over here!" A child called out. My head whipped around and I flew to the direction the voice came from, three floors above me.

"Keep on talking so that I can find you. What's your name?" There was a slight pause before he started talking again.

"My name is Caleb." I nodded as I started to pick up the sound of where he was.

"It's nice to meet you Caleb. I'm Danny. Who's with you buddy?" He coughed through the thick black smoke that was seeping itself in to every nook and cranny in the building.

"My twin sisters Mikayla and Jenna just woke up and my best friend Jacob was staying over while his mom was on a business trip. My Mom was taking my puppy outside and my Dad goes to work at night. Are you a firefighter Danny?"

I iced the flames in the hall as I got closer to Caleb. "No. I'm not a firefighter Buddy, I'm just the town Phantom. Can you tell me what the number on your door is? I can tell I'm really close but I still can't quite find you."

The boy coughed again, his voice weaker. "We're in 431. Danny, our door is really hot. Is there a fire close to it?" Sure enough there was a fire on the door, licking up the wooden edges of the frame.

"Caleb. You need to tell your sisters and Jacob to stand back okay? I'm going to ice the door so that I can get you out." I heard shuffling and the kids were coughing harder now.

"We're out of the way!" I hit the door with everything I had, this was one fire that wasn't going to be able to restart. Within a minute the door was iced and I opened it. Four kids were on all fours about ten feet from the door, their shirts over their noses. The two older boys looked about nine while the little girls couldn't have been older than four. "Danny!" I could tell it was Caleb by his voice as he rushed forwards and gave me a hug.

"It's the Phantom." One of the girls lisped in awe. That made me smile. I picked up the little girls and had the boys follow me. I made sure that I was staying low enough that the air the kids were breathing wasn't too smoky.

I looked and saw that the stairs were blocked. I should have checked that instead of just flying through the ceiling. "Okay." I started. "You two need to huddle up okay, get really close. I'm going to set the girls down beside you and then I'm going to wrap my arms around you. You're going to feel kind of like your arm does when it falls asleep okay. That's normal."

They didn't argue and that was good. What I didn't tell them was that while I was phasing them though the floor I wasn't going to be able to use the ice. That meant that if a burning beam came down somebody was going to need to take the heat. That person would be me. I think that my silent wishing that it wouldn't happen jinxed myself.

As we sunk through the floors a burning beam decided to fall on top of us. The girls screamed but I held my concentration as the beam slid though us. It seared against my bare arm and even though it fell though us it still burnt me until it hit the ground. I gasped before I bit my lip. My eyes were watering but I tried to ignore the pain. I flew the kids out the door and phased through more burning beams. Just my luck they all managed to hit in the same spot. My lip was bleeding from how hard I was biting now. I saw a lady that I assumed to be the kids' mom by the fact that she was rushing around in panic calling their names.

"I've got them!" I called out, sucking in a breath that I had been wanting to pull in since that beam him my arm and I had sucked in all that poisoned air.

A paramedic ran over to look the kids over, giving them all oxygen so that they could breathe better. The woman ran over and wrapped all four of the kids in her arms. "Oh, I was so scared. Jacob, your mom's been calling every five minutes and she's on her way home. She should be here in a couple of hours but flying from Los Angeles to Amity Park takes a few hours. Caleb, Mikayla, Jenna. I love you so much. Daddy's going to be home in just a few minutes." She seemed to realize I was still there and blushed. "Thank you Phantom."

I nodded with an exhausted smile. "I was glad to help. I don't even think that I'm the hero today. Without Caleb I wouldn't have been able to find them." The boy smiled at me as he hugged his mom. I walked over and tapped the chief's shoulder. "Is anyone else still in there? I just found the four missing kids."

She shook her head. "They were the last of them Phantom. The only thing left to do is put out the fire so that it doesn't spread." I nodded, licking the bloody ectoplasm off my lip. It was still bleeding.

"I'll help. If I do you should be able to wrap up a bit faster." The chief looked at me skeptically.

"Are you sure? You have school tomorrow, right?" I waved her off.

"My mom will call the school and tell them my girlfriend and I are going to be late. If this spreads more people could get hurt and if that happens and I leave I'll beat myself up for a month." She shook her head.

"Your call Phantom, Did something happen to your arm?" I swung it behind me.

"Absolutely nothing that a bit of burn cream can't fix. I'm going to go help ice the fire now." I lied cheerily. I flew up to the top of the building where the fire had started. There was a strange skull marking and words in a language I didn't understand, I didn't even think about how odd it was for Vortex to be that specific about where he wanted the lightning to strike. I spent the next hour and a half icing the totaled building, Vortex was gone. I never saw him. He vanished.

When I was finally done I found Sam sitting on a cement bench by one of those play grounds that apartments have. I pulled her ring out of my pocket. "I was careful and here's the ring but I did get hurt and I'm bone tired. Can we call a taxi? I have my wallet back in my backpack." Sam took the ring and slid it back on her finger before taking the hand of my uninjured arm and slinging my bag over her shoulder.

"How did you get that?" I asked, my brain fuzzy with pain and exhaustion.

"I went back to the pool while you were icing the building. We don't need to call a taxi, your sister's here. I'll take care of whatever you did to hurt yourself back at Fenton Works." I nodded.

"That sounds good." I transformed back into Fenton and gasped. The pain was worse now that I was human. Sam led me to Jazz's car and gently guided me into the back seat. I set my head on her shoulder and Jazz rushed us home. My Mom and Dad were waiting on the front steps for us. I got out of the car and brushed my arm against the door. I swore, filter gone.

"Glowstick, come on. Let's go upstairs to your room, okay?" Sam soothed as she came over and I actually let her see my arm. He voice was uncharacteristically gentle. A sign that it was bad. She led me up the stairs like I was a small child and had me sit on the bed before she took my shirt off so she could clean me off. She grabbed a damp wash cloth and wiped the ash off of my arms and face as I whimpered. I didn't cry though, I almost never cried. Sam then added burn cream and wrapped up my arm with clean white bandages.

I laid down on the floor on a pile of blankets as Shade walked out of the room to get changed into her pajamas. I struggled into a pair of pajama pants using one arm and laid back down on my blanket pile. I didn't bother putting a shirt on. Sam walked back into the room and sighed. "Danny, come on. You're going to sleep on the bed tonight. You need real sleep, not floor sleep." I tried to protest but I was already half asleep as Sam pulled me off of my pile of blankets on the floor and on to the bed. She laid down on the side of my body that wasn't screaming and pressed a quick kiss on my cheek. She was warm beside me but it wasn't the searing heat that had been in the fire. It was warm and comforting.

"Hey Sam." I whispered so that Jazz wouldn't flip and so we wouldn't wake up Dani in the next room.

"Yeah Danny." She whispered as she traced one of the raised scars on my shoulder. My heart sped up making me realize that what I was about to say could never be taken back, the very reason that we hadn't said the words even though we had been dating for a couple of years. I didn't want to take them back but what if she rejected me? What if Sam had decided that being my girl wasn't a permanent thing. Stupid brain.

"I love you." Sam's breathing stalled briefly before she sat up. I cursed myself for opening my big mouth before I felt Sam's lips on mine again. Brain function stopped. She leaned backwards and smiled, breathing deeply.

"I love you too, and don't you forget it Ghost Boy. Good night Glowstick, you need to rest." I sighed as Sam laid back down, she had one arm underneath the crook of my neck and the other draped over my chest so that she was almost holding me. My eyelids got heavier and I just wanted to go numb from the pain in my arm. It was excruciating but I was too tired to complain.

"Good night Beautiful."

"Shut up Danny."

"You're welcome."

"Good night Danny."


	6. Six: The Day of Discomfort

Sam's POV

I woke up late, something I wasn't used to. I had forgotten how amazing it was to sleep for 10 hours in a row. I sat up, slightly dazed as to why I was still in bed when I realized that Danny was curled up in a ball beside me. His chest was rising and falling as he breathed painfully.

"Danny," I whispered. "We need to get up. We're already pressing our luck with Lancer." He whimpered and curled himself tighter against his arm.

"Sam. I don't want to get up. It hurts. I'm never still in pain this long after I get hurt. Why haven't healed myself yet?" I climbed out of bed and tossed Danny a loose red long sleeve shirt with his logo on it in white.

"You are probably healing Glowstick. That burn was horrible." He looked at me in awe, surprised that he had hurt himself so badly that he wasn't healed in a few hours. The last time that happened was when he fought Pariah.

"What time is it?" I grabbed my usual clothes and pleather jacket that stopped at my ribs before I stopped at the door, turning back to Danny for just a minute.

"Check your phone Ghost Boy, and change into blue jeans while I'm gone. If I miss another geography Mr. Jones is going to kill me." I slipped into the bathroom and got changed quickly, I laced up my combat boots over a pair of soft white socks before I went back into the room that I guessed was ours now. Danny was sitting on the bed with his hand on his sneaker as he tried to pull it on with one arm, failing. I sighed. "Danny, let me help you."

The halfa shook his head with a sound that was a mix between a growl and a whine. "Let me try. I'm not a helpless child, I'm a super hero with a battle wound." I didn't protest so that I wouldn't hurt his pride any more than it had already been bruised. The fact that it was taking him a moment to put his sneakers on gave me a chance to grab some new bandages and more burn cream. When Danny finally got his sneakers on a look of triumph swept across his face.

I sat down beside him and rolled up his sleeve so that it was above the bandaged burn. When Glowstick saw the look on my face that betrayed how horrible the burn really was under the cloth and the medical supplies in my lap he sighed. When he spoke again his voice was softer, more considerate and in control. "Sorry Shade, I didn't mean to snap. I guess with all of the fighting I've done I've numbed myself to most minor pains. I'd kind of forgotten what it felt like to be in pain. Sorry for getting hurt."

The fact that he was apologizing made me crack a smile. "You saved the lives of four little kids, I'm pretty sure that I can forgive you for not listening to one of my rules to save them." I started to unwrap the bandage and bit my lip. By no means was I squeamish, and it wasn't the fact that the skin had melted or the fact that I had seen the bone covered in ash last night like it was meant to be out in the open that made me want to scream. It was the fact that it was Danny that made me want to scream, to lock him up in a room full of bubble wrap and do the same to Dani so they wouldn't get hurt anymore. The wound was from mid forearm to mid bicep. That meant that even though there was no way Danny was going to bend his elbow, he could still turn his arm to see the damage.

"Holy Hell." He breathed. His flesh was a strange green color that I wasn't sure if it was from the cauterized ectoplasm, the fire, or the fact that ghost hybrid flesh just looked different. Even though the wound was healing slowly, the under layers of flesh had to be there before skin could grow over it. That meant that instead of painful, blistering skin, it was excruciating, bubbly muscle. "Can you just slap the goop on and cover it back up again? I look gross." Danny inquired weakly, trying to lighten up the moment. I squirted some of the white cream on my fingers and rubbed it carefully on the gash before wrapping a clean bandage over the wound and rolling the long sleeve shirt down.

"Does it hurt any less Glowstick?" I whispered. Danny laughed hoarsely as he grabbed his backpack.

"No. I'm just awake enough to hold my tongue now. Do you have your bag? I can fly us to school now." I set my hands on my hips.

"No. Danny you are not flying to school today."

"Sam." He whined.

"Daniel!" he huffed out a sigh.

"Fine. We can drive. You're lucky I love you otherwise I would be glowing with anger right now." The word love echoed in my ears and made me smile faintly.

"Yeah, I'm lucky. Now grab a protein bar and move it to the driveway Mister. Move it!" He smirked and grabbed two of the bars, tossing one to me.

"Yes Ma'am. I'm moving it."

The ten minute drive to the school was pleasant as Danny tried to get me to sing to the radio, poking me every time I wouldn't join in with Skillet. It was much cooler than yesterday so I figured that our heat flash was over. We would have to wait until the end of the month, just a few weeks away until we could swim again. It hit me suddenly that three weeks from now I would be a high school graduate. We walked into the school and all eyes turned on us. The other students must have realized that we were gone. We walked down the hall to the office and Mr. Lancer was paged as soon as the secretary saw us walk through the office doors. We saw a lot of the man. Not only was he our homeroom and English teacher but he was also vice principal and the person in charge of Team Phantom while they were on school grounds. He made sure that we didn't blow the whole school up, dealt with our periotic absences and made sure that the other students didn't suffocate us. He, truthfully, had become my favorite teacher. Especially because when he got to know us he didn't treat us like superheroes. He treated us like we were his star students, the ones he was proud of not because of the powers or the awards, but because of what we did to help people.

Danny and I sat down next to Tucker's girlfriend of about six months and she had been my friend since just before the disasteroid. Her name was Caroline Green but she went by Cara most of the time. She had short, curly blonde hair, that went down to her chin, eyes the color of green grass and an attitude as big as her heart. Today she must have been feeling edgy, she was wearing a black tank top that looked like it was splattered with blood and a pair of dark jeans. Her red sneakers peeked out from underneath her jeans and she was holding on to a single dog tag that always hung around her neck.

It had been her older brother's and she had demanded that she have it when she found out he wasn't coming home. She had thrown the biggest hissy in the world to get that little piece of metal and it never left her person. The other big thing about Cara was that she was a genius and she had connections. Her dad was FBI and her mom was an awesome surgeon. She finished med school at 15 and was an amazing doctor but Amity Hospital wouldn't hire her until she was 18. Her birthday was just before Danny's, about two weeks from now.

Her Dad thought that she needed to social experience of being in high school so she was stuck here with us. On the bright side she was a member of Team Phantom and that meant that she did get a lot of passes out of class.

"Hey Sam. How's your morning been so far?" She asked casually as she tapped away on a tablet computer, no doubt she was working on something to help Danny out with his Ectoplasmic medical problems. She was the only doctor willing to get near him for fear of getting something wrong and ruining their reputation. Nobody else had the courage to be the ghost hero's doctor.

"Fine, I've only been up for about 45 minutes. There was a fire over at the apartments on 5th last night. Danny and I were there until after midnight and then I spent the hour patching him up." The girl looked up from her small computer. She looked pretty damn angry.

"And nobody thought to call the doctor? The only person with medical experience?" I shrugged.

"It was 1am Caroline. I figured that you could use the sleep. Tuck said you were sick anyways." She waved me off.

"I wasn't. I took a day off of school because I had gone with my dad to DC for the weekend. He had some work stuff to do, my mom was out of town, and he still sees me as his baby girl. I got home around 4pm yesterday and Tuck came over to welcome me home. I told him to tell everyone I was sick so no A-listers would have a field day on how I was too much of a baby to stay in my house overnight for a couple of days. He didn't realize that you and Danny aren't part of everyone." I glanced over at Danny as he leaned against me. He was nodding off even though he had actually slept last night.

"Sorry. So why are you here late Cara?" The doctor brushed a stray curl behind her ear.

"I was kind of off because of the time change. My dad turned off my alarm and let me sleep in. I had a mini panic when I realized that it was 8:30 and I wasn't in homeroom yet. I used my shoes to fly to school." A small smile appeared on her lips. The sneakers had been a gift from Tucker before they were even dating. They were a birthday gift and one of a kind. She was the only girl in the world that had a pair of hover sneakers.

The door opened and we both jumped. Danny felt me jump and leapt into a fighting stance before he realized that he had just dozed off and Lancer had stepped into the office followed quickly by Tucker. "Miss. Manson, Mr. Fenton, Lord of The Rings why are you so late?"

Even though the office was mostly empty Danny still glanced around uneasily. "Mr. Lancer, I'd rather we have this conversation somewhere a bit more private on the off chance that students can hear us. It's not made for smaller ears." The vice principal nodded sharply and we walked into his office. Lancer pretended not to see Tucker greet Cara with a quick kiss. The door closed behind the five of us with a click.

"Alright Daniel, tell me what happened." The boy nodded and explained quickly what all had happened the night before, not counting our date. I hadn't even heard all of what had happened but it made me proud. I pressed a quick kiss on Danny's cheek when he was done talking.

"Good job hero." Tucker gave him a silent brofist. Cara was not quite so enthusiastic.

"Roll up the sleeve Fenton. Now." Danny knew better than to argue and rolled the loose material up over his bandage. I helped him take that bandage off so that we could reuse the strip of fabric. The burn was ugly and if it had a mind of it's own it would be laughing at us. Tucker's face went a shade paler while Caroline's turned a brilliant shade of red. "You Idiots! When you talked about it you made it sound like it was a tiny little thing, not a third degree monster!" She crossed the small room in two steps and started to fuss over Danny's arm.

"Cara, seriously, I'm fine. It doesn't really hurt anyways." It was an obvious lie and everyone in the room knew it. Caroline glared at him.

"Then this won't hurt, will it Danny?" She poked him in the arm and I could tell just by watching she wasn't pressing hard but Danny gasped and his eyes flashed bright green as they always did when he felt some strong feeling. In this instance, pain. He leapt backwards and held his arm against himself.

"Caroline Mikayla Green! What was that for?" She stepped forwards and grabbed Danny's arm away from him and started to wrap his burn up the same way I had.

"I was only proving that you're a liar Daniel. As soon as school is done I am taking you back to your house and cleaning you up. So many things can go wrong if you don't take care of this correctly. If it starts bleeding you are being pulled and I am pulling you right there and then. Do you understand Daniel Matthew Fenton?"

I watched with amusement as Danny murmured a yes to the girl that was almost a foot shorter than him. Cara was only 5' 1" but that didn't make her any less scary. She and I had both proved that height wasn't necessary to be terrifying. Mr. Lancer cleared his throat. "Are the four of you ready to go to class now?" Tucker nodded quickly. He was defiantly the geek.

"Yes! Let's go guys! I'm missing lab!" He pushed us out the door without another word to Lancer.

We had another period and a half before lunch with Danielle and unfortunately Dash was in both of the classes too. I had to hold Danny back with how short of a temper he had while he was in pain. We stepped through the doors to the cafeteria and we were tackled by a little girl. She tossed her limbs around us in a way so that she was hugging both of us around the waist at the same time.

"Mom? Daddy? Are you okay? Grandma Mads wouldn't even let me step in your room to check on you just in case I woke you up. Auntie Jazz wouldn't even tell me if you guys were okay." Dani breathed frantically, but she was still quiet. The girl had her face buried in Danny's shirt. Danny and I both hugged her back.

"We're okay. The injuries I got will heal and Sam wasn't hurt so everything's fine." Danielle's face went deathly pale.

"How hurt did you get? How bad was it?" Somehow Dani knew exactly where to go to find the injury. She pushed Danny's sleeve up and whimpered when she was how much area the bandage had to cover. The edges of the cloth were rimed in a muddy green and red swirl. Dani hugged Glowstick and I again. "You're going to be okay." She murmured softly, almost to reassure herself that it was true. "Sit with me and my friends at lunch." She pleaded. "Something is going to happen, I can tell."

I didn't have the heart to tell her no and truthfully, I did want to meet the kids she had made friends with so I said yes immediately. Danny wasn't going to be eating lunch without us so he was along for the ride. Danielle pulled us over to a mostly empty table with two other kids sitting there already. The boy had red hair, green eyes, and freckles. The girl looked similar, they were most defiantly sibling and maybe twins. Her red hair was waist long and her eyes were blue instead of green, she did still have the freckles though.

"Wow." The girl whispered. Her face had gone several shades deeper red as she saw Danny. Danielle rolled her eyes.

"Chill Lacy, It's just Danny and Sam. Danny's my cousin." The girl hesitated at the word cousin, it had been so normal just a few days ago but now the word sounded wrong. I stuck out my hand to the girl.

"Sam Manson, I'm Glowstick's girlfriend." The boy snickered.

"Who's Glowstick?" Lacy elbowed him.

"Jake, turn your brain on for just a minute! Who is the other guy here that happens to be holding Sam's hand? It's Phantom!" Lacy shook her head. "Sorry about the fool, I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one that got any brain cells. You would think that having a twin sister to help him study would make him smarter." I smiled softly.

"It's cool, I'm going to go grab some food. Do you want me to grab you anything Hero?" Danny nodded before placing a swift kiss on my forehead and another on my nose. He sat down on the bench that looked away from the door just like Dani, he saved me a spot beside him.

"You're fabulous. Especially if you get corndogs." I rolled my eyes as I walked over to grab the food. I did get the stupid corndogs if only to keep Danny's mind off of his stupid arm injury. I grabbed a salad and paid quickly. I was proud of myself for stock piling my money for a few months. I had known my parents were going to kick me out sooner or later. I balanced the food as I walked back to the table. Danielle and Lacy were in a heated debate on things like whether converse or Nikes were better or if heels should be used as torture devices. That was defiantly my kid right there.

I place the corndogs in front of Danny and he smiled, his eyes glowing just slightly even though he wasn't in ghost mode he was so excited. "You know you're perfect, right Shade?" I shook my head,

"If only because I brought you dead animal." Danny cracked a smile before tensing up. His ears pricked up like he was an animal and the ghost boy's features morphed from an easy grin to a snarl.

"Damn it." Dani looked cross eyed at her nose.

"What is it? There's not a ghost, either that or my ghost sense is broken. What's wrong?"

"Just turn around. I can smell him." Dani and I both twisted in our seats and I groaned. Standing in the doorway was Dash Baxter, beside him stood his little brother, pointing at us with his eyes on fire as he directed Dash to where we were sitting.


	7. Seven: Who's the Real Man Now

Danny's POV

I wanted to stick that little weasel Tommy in a dumpster as he stood back and watched Dash come over to fight his battle. I knew that Dani wasn't scared of either of the Baxter's when she was able to protect herself but when they fought her on school grounds they knew that she wouldn't use her powers and took that as the perfect time to pummel her. That was when Dani got scared. Dash rested a clenched fist on the table, using the other hand to steal fries from Jake. He turned white as the large boy glared at him.

"So Dan, My brother said that your cousin and her loser friends jumped him." He focused on the word and Danielle turned pale. She had learnt that Dash knew her secret before we sent her to bed last night but having him let her know that he had that little piece of ammo in his arsenal made it sink in. "He even showed me a black eye to prove it. Tommy said that the only reason that she got a punch in was because of her freak powers. I came down here to give her a lesson but instead I think I'll teach you instead."

I stood up. My eyes were already burning green with anger. I knew for a fact that the weasel was lying and Dash did too, that didn't mean that he couldn't use talking to Dani about her behavior as an excuse to pound on us. "I'd bet that he also told you that it was her fault that he failed his math quiz didn't he? Go ahead and try to do anything to any of us and you'll find yourself missing a few fingers, you'd still have more of them than IQ points though. I can't do anything about that."

Tommy walked over from where he had been hiding by the door. "Are we sure that the freaks even are the Phantoms? They're so wimpy even Mikey could destroy them." He said with a smirk. Sam had to hold Danielle down as she glowed a bright white. Lacy took out her phone and started recording. Sam snarled.

"At least we have things other than teddy bears in our closets." She hit a nerve. Dash picked me up by my shirt and my arm screamed. When I winced Dash took that as he was hurting me.

"Tommy's right, you're no hero Fentina. You're just some glory hound that took all the credit away from the real Phantom. With that dorky techno geek as your friend it would be no problem to make a device to change your looks with a hologram. You're just a little loser baby hiding behind that hero's mask. You're a Mouse, not a Man. That's the very reason you're always late. You just can't stay away from the attention, can you Mickey?" Sam let Dani go.

The girl flew into the air and supercharged her fists to glow with energy. "YOU TAKE THAT BACK DASH BAXTER! DANNY IS MORE A MAN THAN YOU WILL EVER BE AND IT YOU DON'T SHUT UP I'M GOING TO KICK YOU WHERE THE SUN DOESN'T SHINE!" I snatched the girl from where she was floating in the air at my eye level.

"Ghosty," I instructed, steely calm. "Go sit with Sam. I've got this." Danielle glared at the football star.

"Go on Ghosty." The jock mocked with a hiss. He, Dani, Sam, and I were the only ones that could hear him now. "I've got this princess. Go sit with Mommy like the weak little girl you are." Dani snarled.

"You are so lucky that I'm not tearing you to shreds right now." She did as I asked her and gripped Sam's hand so tightly that her knuckles were white.

"So Dash," I started casually as frost snaked on the floor around me. My emotions were taking control of my powers again. "I'll take it you didn't get my message yesterday. Do you want to know why I was late this morning? Because I'll tell you. It's not like it's something to be ashamed of, on the contrary I'm pretty proud of what I did last night. "

"Doubt it Freak. You probably aren't even the Phantom anyways." Dash spat as I rolled up my sleeve and showed the bandage on my arm. I started to unwrap the cloth, it was time for me to put a new one on anyways. I spoke loud enough so that the entire cafeteria could hear me, they were all watching me anyways.

"The night started normally Baxter. Dinner, Homework, even got to take my girlfriend on a date. Everyone with eyes knows she deserved it with all the crap she has to take being the Phantom's girlfriend. I cashed in a favor and took her swimming. We had a nice, semi normal night until about 10:20. My ghost sense went off and I almost ignored it, almost. Sam had me check it out and it turned out Vortex set an apartment building on fire, a building full of completely innocent people. I went inside the flaming building with no protection, the firefighters weren't there yet and almost everyone was outside already. "

I pulled more of my bandage off and winced. "There were four kids, trapped on the fourth floor. The door was on fire and if I hadn't iced it they would have died. Even if by some miracle they had gotten out of the apartment they still wouldn't have been able to get down. I fazed them through the floor but that didn't stop the heat of the fire and someone had to take the heat. I sure as hell wasn't going to let one of the nine year olds take it. That's how I got this. I stayed home to heal this morning, not to mention the fact that I didn't get home after 1am. Sam was patching me up." I pulled the rest of the bandage off of my arm and showed it to Dash. His face turned pea green when he saw the wound. I turned my body carefully so that Danielle couldn't see my arm.

"Holy Hell Fenton." I gave him a matter of fact look.

"Does that look faked to you Baxter?" The bully steeled himself,

"Sure, Techno Geek faked it. You've got some kind of device stashed in your clothes geek." I picked up the bullies hand and set it on my arm. It stung but all I did to show it was bit my lip.

"Does it feel like I faked that Dash?" The football player glared at me but he was still a pale green.

"Doesn't matter Wimp. You're just a little Geek Fenton, just like you always have been. Now the girl, is going to be just like you." I glared right back and the look on Dash's face wavered for a split second.

"You'll see differently at gym Dash."

I sat down next to my girls and winced as I stretched one of my forming scabs. I had already pulled my sleeve back over the burn before anyone else could see. Tetslaff would just make me take it off for gym anyways. I scarfed down my food with the girls and Jake. With the excitement they had forgotten that they had to eat too. I pressed a kiss on the top of Dani's head. She smiled and didn't yell at me that I was embarrassing her in front of her friends. It was my own little reward for standing up to Dash.

"Be safe Danny. You too Sam." She remarked with a smile. "If you're not I might have to lock you in the Fenton Stockade's." She warned. Sam waved her off.

"Just don't blow anything up Ghosty. See you after school." As we walked away to gym I heard Lacy lean forwards with a smile.

"Your cousin is awesome."

I wished that I could skip gym as I walked into the locker room. I had never taken my shirt off in gym class, not even after my secret got revealed. I had a feeling that I really wasn't going to have a choice today. Not only was it warmer than hell in the gym but I could smell chlorine. We were going into our school's pool. I was an addition added after Tucker started being mayor and everyone agreed with the fact that when we were in the water we had more fun that meant that we actually worked harder. I usually wore a shirt in the water but it was going to rip on my arm with that heavy wet fabric.

I slipped the Casper high tee shirt and a pair of swimming trunks on before walking out of the locker room and into the gym. Everyone else was in swimming suits too, Sam was wearing her cape over her bikini just like she used to when we went to the water park. I walked over to her, Tucker, and Caroline. Even though she had changed into her swimsuit she still wore the dog tag. "Hey." I greeted as I wrapped my good arm around Sam. All of the seniors were staring at my arm but the three I was standing with.

"Dude. Are you going to try to get out of this one, the chlorine's probably going to hurt on your arm?" Tuck informed. The thought hadn't even occurred to me. I shrugged as Dash walked into the room with his shirt on his shoulder. He hadn't even bothered to put it back on so that the girls with no brains would stare at him. Sam sent him a death glare that was no doubt because of what he had said about Dani and me

"It's not going to happen. Tetslaff, doesn't give out free passes. It doesn't matter that I'm a super hero, I'm not on the football team." The young mayor sighed as Tetslaff came out of her office holding a clipboard and a stopwatch. Sam wrapped her fingers in mine, and Tuck did the same with Cara. Tetslaff cleared her throat and Caroline crossed her arms stubbornly. She wasn't someone who enjoyed bullies with authority.

"Okay Pansies! We're swimming because you're all wimps who need to get in shape to pass PE this year. Swimming is your test this year. You get a good time, you pass. The test is two weeks from now. Simple enough for your little brains?" The whole class nodded and the teacher looked pleased with herself. " Good. The entire US is doing this and we are going to win. Get in a line. Now Pansies! Move it!"

The entire class grumbled. Ms. Tetslaff was an okay teacher but she was really competitive. That meant that now she was going to be even harder on us. The class got in a line and the four of us were the unlucky suckers that had to go first. Tetslaff was going to have us go through the line more than once. The good news in that was that while everyone else was swimming we would be allowed to chat, the bad news was that I wasn't going to be able to put my shirt on after I got wet. Sam stood in front of me so that she would be going first. She handed me her cape to reveal a blood red bikini. "Thank you. For going first so I don't have to." I said gratefully. Shade pressed a quick kiss on my nose.

"Well, the thanks isn't necessary Glowstick. Get used to me saving your butt already, okay?" I nodded. "Will you hold this for me while I swim? I'll come back up and grab it before I get in line again." The look I sent her said that there was no need to ask. Sam leapt gracefully into the water. Her long, strong arms brought her to the other end in less than a minute. Her four laps were over soon. She shook some of the water out of her hair and grabbed her cape back from me, she also held out a hand for my shirt. I sighed before stripping the cotton garment and handing it to the Goth beauty as she walked to the end of the line.

Everyone but my friends gasped and most of the girls stifled screams. The scars swirled all over my body from the constant attacks I had been facing for the past four years like some kind of sick lace. Surprisingly I didn't have many on my arms or face and everything else was usually covered by my jeans and tee shirts. I rolled my eyes. "You can all stop gaping at me, the only thing that's actually going to hurt is my arm." I said, turning in a circle. "No device." I said firmly. Most of the students wouldn't know what I was talking about but Dash just glared at me. It was hard to not flip him off.

I jumped in the water and I wanted to scream. The chlorine was like acid on my arm and it ate away at my newly forming scabs. I must have been having a reaction with my ectoplasm and the chlorine. I could barely focus on moving my good arm and the bad one wasn't moving at all. When I climbed out of the pool four minutes later, a time that I could beat easily when not injured, the wound reopened. "Shit." I growled, not caring that the rest of my class was watching me or that my teacher was five feet from me.

Everyone took three steps forwards, Sam and Tuck rushed to me and wrapped a towel around my arm before we walked quickly over to a bench. Caroline was trying to get back to us with no luck. Finally she lost her temper. "All you Maggots need to move it so I can get back to the only people in this stupid school that I call my friends! Now move it before I kick your asses!" The teens parted before the small woman and she walked forwards confidently. She had a first aid kit in her hands.

"Out of the way Sam, I've got him." Sam took a small step back and sat down beside me taking my good hand for me to squeeze as the pain got worse. Tuck stood in front of us like a body guard.

"Go on Guys, back to your regularly scheduled gym class. Nothing to see here. Stop staring at them! I said there's nothing to see here!" The teens grumbled and got back in line. Tetslaff shot us a look.

"Just because you burnt your arm doesn't mean that any of you are getting out of laps. You'll do them after school if you need but they are getting done." I cracked a smile, at least the teacher didn't give me special treatment. Cara thrust me from my thoughts with a click of her tongue.

"You really should have called me last night. I could have made things so much easier and then you would be halfway healed right now. Next time use your brain you two!" She rummaged through the small kit and swore.

"What's wrong now Cara?" Tuck asked, exasperated. Caroline stood up and grabbed several dry towels. She handed one to Sam, wrapped one around her waist, and quickly covered up my burn with the other two towels, wrapping the cloth loosely.

"Tetslaff's an idiot for making you swim in that pool after getting that burn and I don't have the right supplies to help take care of it here. We're heading to Lancer's office. I'd recommend putting some kind of covering over your swimming clothes. I'm taking you home." I swore this time.


	8. Eight: Another Confident

Sam's POV

Caroline set her hands on her hips as Danny, Tuck, and I kicked at the floor. "Danny. Keep your ass on that bench now. Babe, you are going to get yours and Danny's clothes. I'll do the same for Sam and me. It's not the first time I've done it. Sam if Danny tries to move do what you need to so he doesn't. Danny if you move you are going to injure yourself further and create even more scar tissue. If you continue with that I'll have to do surgery. Do you want that Fenton?" Fenton. It's official, she's gone into doctor mode.

"No." he sighed as continued to sit. "Are we going to be coming back to the school again today or not? We have to take Danielle with us. If she's not leaving then I'm not." Cara nodded with a suspicious look. Danielle was the one person she didn't know the whole story about. She was under the impression that Dani was just Danny's half ghost cousin. I wasn't sure that she would still have that idea by the end of the day.

"I'll have Lancer pull her and grab her stuff. Stay. Put." Caroline walked off and Tucker grinned.

"Have I mentioned how awesome my girlfriend is? Because she's amazing!" He grabbed his top hat from the bench, something that I hadn't even known was in the room before he quickly walked off to the locker room.

"So." I started, breaking our silence. "I had fun at the pool last night." I said with a small smile. Danny replied with the same expression on his face, his eyes melted from pain to happiness.

"I did too Shade, I'll have to take you there again sometime. I didn't even get to give you the licorice bats I bought. They're still in that bag." Danny tried to stand up but I stopped him by sitting on his lap. He stopped moving so that I wouldn't fall off of the bench and onto the floor.

"Beat you." I whispered. Glowstick huffed.

"You know I could just faze through the bench to move, right?" I nodded and leaned back into the soothing cool that surrounded Danny. His chest rose and fell steadily as he took slow, deep breaths.

"Yeah, but you won't. It's your job to be my pillow." We were silent for a moment before I spoke. "I have an idea." Danny chuckled.

"Well, that's a scary thought. What's the idea about?" I brushed a piece of my wet hair out of my eyes.

"Danielle." Danny's deep breathing stalled for just a bit longer than normal.

"I'm listening." He whispered as he wrapped his good arm around me so that he was holding me.

"It's about the legal stuff." I started hesitantly, I made sure that no one was listening in and made sure that I still barely breathed my next words. Danny would still be able to hear them anyways. "We need to make it so that she's legally ours. In the eyes of the state she's not even a person. We need to have her not only be seen as a little girl but as our little girl."

Danny set his head on my shoulder so his mouth was next to my ear. To the average person it would look like he was just flirting with his girlfriend, not having a serious conversation. "Tucker can't do that." He muttered. "She would be considered a reproductive clone in the eyes of the law. That's illegal. Tucker can't just make her papers. We need to go higher."

"What about Governor DeLisle?" I suggested, I could almost hear the gears turning in Glowstick's head.

"I don't think that's quite high enough." Danny sighed. I pondered it for a minute more before the answer decided that it had played with my mind enough.

"What about President Kaufman? After the disasteroid he would probably do you a favor, especially because he was the president then too." I couldn't see his face but I'm pretty sure that Danny was smiling.

"Good plan, just one thing. How are we going to get the president's number? That's probably not something that they post on Facebook." It was my turn to smirk now.

"Tucker did say that he would help us out."

"Help you out with what?" I jumped slightly. Cara was standing beside us wearing her jeans over her bikini bottoms and her bright red sneakers laced tightly over her bare feet. She hadn't even bothered to put her tank top on over her top. She was holding my clothes in her hand. "You two sound pretty excited. You're lucky that I'm me and I don't listen in on you. I might have to if you keep on being so secretive." She passed me the bundle of ruffled up clothes and I slipped my pants and shoes on over my swimsuit and pulling my pleather coat on over my swimsuit top. I would just stick my shirt in my backpack. "Did Danny try to move?" Caroline asked with a small smile. I returned it as I squeezed some of the water out of my hair.

"He tried. Then I sat on him." Cara seemed to think that was smart.

"Good. Where's Tucker? It's not like he's going into Fort Knox, it's just some high school lockers." Right on cue the young man walked through the doors with a nice scratch above his face.

"Box Ghost was looking for you Danny, he said that he wanted to talk to you. I told him that you would find him later. He was in the teacher's lounge on the other end of the school. Lancer was looking for one of us to take care of it." Tucker muttered, kissing Caroline before he passed Danny his long sleeved shirt and sneakers. Danny looked over at me.

"If I try to do this one armed we'll be here for another ten minutes." I got the message and helped him get his shirt and shoes on. He had his jaw clenched the whole time, knowing that Dash was going to smash this in his face later. "Let's get going before I lose it completely."

We all walked down to the office and sat down. Every minute Cara made sure that Danny wasn't moving his arm. He was thoroughly pissed by the time we sat down in the office. Danielle rushed into the office less than a minute later. She was hovering about an inch in the in the air. "Is everyone okay?" She asked franticly. When she saw Danny, Tucker, and I sitting in the chairs with Caroline she almost deflated.

"We're all going to be fine Ghosty." Danny tried to assure her but she ran forwards and flung herself on him before doing the same to me.

"When they called me to the office and told me to get my stuff I thought that something was wrong. I thought that you got even more hurt." The fact that she wasn't far off from the truth didn't surprise me. Even though Dani had only been alive for a few years she was still pretty good at figuring things out. At least she didn't get the Fenton cluelessness.

"Cara checked out Danny's arm after it started bleeding during gym. We're going to head home so she can fix Danny up. School ends in a couple hours and we're taking you home with us." Dani nodded, she had known Cara even since she had started living with the Fenton's.

"How bad is your arm?" She asked in a wobbly voice as she walked up to Glowstick. He held the towel over his arm down.

"It's not pretty Danielle. You can see it when I've been cleaned up a bit. Why don't you go grab the bags as we talk with Mr. Lancer, Okay?" The ghost girl nodded before kissing Danny on the cheek and then floating up to me and doing the same.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." She promised as she flew off quickly to the senior wing.

Cara crossed her arms across her bare stomach as she turned to the vice principal. "Okay, Mr. Lancer. I'm taking Danny home just like I said I would this morning. Tetslaff had him swim with a burn that bad and less than 24 hours old. The wound opened again. We're leaving and taking Dani with us." Mr. Lancer just nodded.

"You're excused Team Phantom, I'll get your homework sent to homeroom so you can do it later. I'd recommend going to Danielle so she doesn't burst into tears." That was all of the prompt that we needed. Danny and I walked quickly and Tucker and Cara followed behind us. We were probably giving away the fact that Dani was more than Danny's cousin but I really didn't care.

Dani ran into us in the hall holding the four bags. She almost dropped them put I helped her catch them before the bags hit the floor.

"Thanks Sam." She breathed gratefully as I took two of the bags form her. Cara didn't say anything as she took her bag from me and led us to her car. It was a silver Impala. She opened the trunk and tossed the backpacks in to the space where she kept her medical bag.

"Big girls in the front, boys and Dani in the back." The three that were told to sit in the back all groaned but still did as they were told. Danny and Tucker were sitting by the windows with Ghosty in the middle. I sat in the front with Caroline and she rolled all of the windows down. As soon as they were down Cara started driving. "If you guys were any more obvious the whole school would know something's up by now. Are you going to spill?"

I felt my breath hitch up in my throat as I turned around in my seat. Dani didn't seem too alarmed though. "Do you trust her Sam? Danny? Because I do. I know that we're going to need to tell a short list of people, Mr. Lancer will probably be on that list. She's Cara that means she's around the house 24/7. She's going to find out sooner or later. We may as well tell her now so you don't lose your friend over this. It's up to the two of you to decide. It's your job to make the hard choices." I growled softly. I had forgotten that making hard choices was something that I was going to have to do more often now. Danny and I looked eyes and I gave him a small nod.

"She's a friend Dani, We'll make a list of other people to tell when we get home but Cara's cool." He told her with a hand on her knee. Dani closed her eyes as she thought. Finally she nodded.

"Go ahead. I didn't think that we would keep it just between the Fenton's and Tuck for long anyways. I just want a bit of adjustment time before the whole world knows." The looked in her eyes was terrified. She didn't want to be any more different than she already was and when this got out she would be freak more than just at lunch with Tommy Baxter. I hesitated before Danny leaned forwards and set a hand on my arm.

"How about the three of us do this together?" He suggested gently. I nodded before Danny started with the first part of our little story.

"It started on Sunday but it seems like it was so much longer than that…"

I took over about halfway through the tale when Glowstick's voice was starting to get softer. He didn't want to talk about the things that Vlad had said and done to Danielle any more than he needed to. When I finished talking we were pulling into the driveway at Fenton Works. Caroline's eyes were wide and slightly shocked.

"Wow. I wasn't expecting something like that. We should probably head inside now so I can clean Danny up, right dude?" When he didn't answer I turned around. Danielle was snuggling against Danny. She had both of her arms wrapped around Danny's uninjured one and seemed to be asleep. He had his arm wrapped around her and actually was asleep. I guess having me tell the rest of the story was a good plan.

We all got out of the car. Tuck and Cara waited for me to do anything to the Dannys. They have no idea how to wake them up without getting smacked in the face. I realized as I watched them. I bent over beside the car and carefully untangled Danielle's arms from around Danny. She sighed a bit but she still didn't wake. "Tucker," I whispered. "Can you carry Ghosty to her room? I think she had a ghost sense last night but Maddie made her stay in the house so she stayed up worrying. She's really tired."

Tucker reached over and took Dani from my arms and cradled her in his own before he slowly carried her inside. Tucker definitely wasn't a weakling anymore. He had been fighting ghosts with Danny and me for four years and even though he wasn't as strong as Danny was with his superhuman strength, Tuck could probably carry Jack down the block and back without breaking a sweat.

I leaned over, kissed the top of Danny's forehead and set my hand on the side of his face, rubbing his head with my thumb. "Glowstick. Danny, you need to wake up. Glowstick. Come on Phantom, wake up before I find a Specter Deflector." Even when he wasn't conscious those words made him jump. Danny jolted awake and slammed his forehead into mine.

"What's going on? Did I get knocked out again? Shade?" I laughed as I rubbed my face.

"You're fine Danny, You just took a nap on the way home from school." He nodded as he rubbed his eyes. Glowstick looked like a toddler as he rubbed his knuckles against his eyes and stared at me. Understanding washed over him as I helped him out of the car. He was still groggy and slightly wobbly. Caroline had already grabbed her medical bag from her trunk and I would come grab rest of the bags later.

"Oh, Yeah. Did I miss anything when I was asleep?" He stumbled over one of Jack's ecto weapons that he had thrown out into the yard and I held him up. He gave me a grateful smile.

"Not really, Dani fell asleep and Tucker's taking her upstairs to her bedroom now. Caroline's aware of our status with Danielle and Tuck didn't take any blackmail pictures of you and your daughter curled up in the backseat." Glowstick walked through the door, forgetting to open it. I reached for the handle before the door swung open. Danny's eyes were a blazing green. I turned just as Caroline called out in frustration. She ran forwards from where she had been closing up the car.

"Holy Hell. Some weird knight in black armor on a flying horse just threw this thermos at me!" She waved a cylindrical container in the air. "He said that if you kept on throwing the Box Ghost in the Ghost Zone like that he was going throw you to Skulker. What the heak was that for? It's our flipping  
job." Caroline was more annoyed than anything else. She was pretty used to ghosts now than she was a member of the team. She took another huffy breath and pulled me and Glowstick inside and into the kitchen.

"Uh, Cara? What are you doing?" The young doctor clicked her tongue, a habit of hers that she did when she was thinking.

"Getting ready to fix Danny up. Go grab some Ecto-Dejecto Sam, I'm going to need it."


	9. Nine: Important Conversations

Danny's POV

Sam ran down the stairs to the lab just before Tucker came into the kitchen. He leaned against the doorframe as Caroline rushed around the kitchen grabbing the things that she needed. His clothes were slightly ruffled from holding Danielle but other than that he was no different than he had been minutes before. He read a silent question in my eyes. He smirked before answering me. "Ghosty's fine Danny, she's still asleep. I put her in her bedroom. I think that she just spent her morning worrying about you and Sam so she's just wiped. I don't think that she needs anything other than some rest."

I nodded and Cara glared at me. "Sit down Danny. No more moving." I did as I was told as Cara set a tub of water on the table and grabbed some towels form the cabinet before setting her medical kit on the table and opening it. Cara pulled out a smaller red bag, pain meds, and strong antibiotic cream. She started a conversation with Tuck about some kind of computer thing and I zoned. I watched the clock waiting for Sam to come back upstairs. It took her another five minutes to come upstairs. She was followed by both of my parents. My Mom and Dad had looks of concern glued to their faces.

"What happened? Did something happen at school?" I shook my head with an embarrassed expression on my face.

"I just had a reaction with my ectoplasm and the chlorine in the pool. It ate away my arm, I started bleeding, and Cara demanded that we come home so that she could fix me up. It's no big deal." My parents didn't look satisfied with my answer but they didn't question me anymore as they sat down at the kitchen table with me. Shade waved a small tube of Ecto-Dejecto in the air.

"Should I give it to Glowstick now Cara?" She inquired. The young doctor nodded as she looked over the things she had on the table before strapping on some plastic gloves.

"Yeah Sam, inject him with the normal dose. Babe? Can you grab Danny some ibuprofen too? This isn't going to be pleasant." The Tuck nodded and handed me two of the pills. I swallowed them dry.

Shade sat down next to me, pulled my shirt off over my head she and Cara wouldn't have to mess with the fabric, and turned my good arm over so that she could find a vein to inject the Ecto-Dejecto into. I flinched as the lukewarm liquid made its way into my cold body. Sam kissed my nose after she finished the injection. "Sorry, You know that you'll feel better once to kicks in. Just wait a few minutes, okay?" I nodded as my mom passed cookies around to everyone that was able to eat them right now.

"Thanks Maddie!" Tuck, Sam, and Dad called out. Sam laid her head on my shoulder and her warm breath tickled against my skin.

I winced as Caroline grabbed my arm and stuck it in the cool water. She started to gently rub the dried ectoplasm away with a washcloth and it pulled. My mom and Dad sent me looked of sympathy. They hated seeing me in pain, something that they saw pretty often.

"Is there anything that we can to for you Sweetheart?" I almost said no but then I was hit with a realization. I shifted slightly to be slightly more comfortable.

"Actually, yeah. If I could have someone grab the backpack I was carrying last night and hand it to Sam that would be awesome. I got her a little present." Cara rolled her eyes.

"Can someone grab the stupid backpack so my patient will stop moving? Ectoplasm's not the easiest thing to get off of skin." My dad threw the bag to Shade and she caught it with one hand. She pulled out the licorice bats and glared at everyone in the room but me.

"These belong to me!" She sat down next to me again and ripped open the bag like a tiger. My dad was doing the same thing with a new container of fudge. Cara smirked as she finally pulled my arm out of the water. She toweled it off and flicked Sam. She took her attention away from the bats to look rub her forehead and gaze over at Caroline. "Yes?"

Cara's eyes flicked to me for a split second. "This is the moment when I'm going to have to have to cut the dead skin and blisters away from Danny. This would be a good time to hold your boyfriend's hand." Sam instantly tangled her fingers with mine. Cara nodded and made a clicking sound that was starting to be part of the background noise. "I'm not going to do any stiches, you're going to have an open wound for a couple of days but if I do put the stiches in they'll evaporate. This is going to be unpleasant Danny."

I nodded and Caroline closed her eyes for just a moment. Shade pressed a quick kiss on my lips.

"I love you. Let's try not to wake Dani up." I nodded with a slight smile to try to cover my fear. Cara started to slice the dead skin away. It wasn't the worst pain I had ever been in before, the pain wasn't even bothering me, it was the fact that I'd had nightmares where people dissected me with scalpels just like the one Cara was using. That didn't really make me want to sit here and let her continue to slice away at my arm, especially because every time she scraped against my dead skin I heard it. I squeezed Sam's hand and bit my lip. "Hey Jack? Can you blather on about ghosts for a few minutes?"

The response was instantaneous. My dad started talking about one of his new weapons and I couldn't hear the scraping of the scalpel against my skin anymore. I mouthed a thank you to her and she only rolled her eyes. I heard her voice whisper out even though her mouth was closed. Goofball. I love him, I didn't want him to freak out.

I jumped and Cara made a small slice into my healthy flesh. "Holy Hell!" She scolded. "I'm trying to take the dead skin away not the living stuff. What was that for?" I seriously didn't know. How did that happen? I tried to shrug it off.

"Nothing. I must have been imagining things. Go ahead and continue." I tried to think about other things. Ghosts, Sam's eyes, NASA, anything but how I had just heard Sam's voice in my head. Minutes later Sam jumped up suddenly with a gasp. I heard her voice moments later. Her voice was calm, and confused but defiantly in my head. What the hell was that Danny?

I flinched again as I felt the unfamiliar sensation of her voice in my head like my own thoughts instead of being a sound for me to focus on. Cara set her scalpel down again. "What the hell is going with the two of you? If you keep going on like this I'm not going to be able to work."

"I just got a new ghost power," I murmured. "I can't control it yet. Sam and I are hearing each other's thoughts. It feels weird." Suddenly I was blushing, embarrassed. I felt exposed, kind of like someone had taken my clothes away from me. Even though I told Sam pretty much everything I thought anyways I had always been able to count on my mind being just that, mine. It was my sanctuary after all of my ghost fights, full of my fears and my dreams. Sam squeezed my hand and pressed a quick kiss on my cheek.

"I'm going to go check on Danielle, maybe if we're a bit farther apart it'll be easier to turn this off." She speed up the stairs with her face sharing the same rosy tint that mine was.

"Just keep on going Cara. I'm starting to get used to it." I heard Sam snicker from the top of the stairs. No, you're not getting used to this. At least it's not happening with someone that you hate. You got stuck with me instead of somebody like Dash. My eyes flickered green at the thought of having Dash hear my thoughts. I sighed

You're distracting. I'm trying to not move and you're making it hard to sit still. Sam's thoughts were silent for a moment and I realized that we weren't hearing everything the other thought. It was more selective, almost like we were talking. Is this bothering you Sam? I can try to make it stop but it's like you said. I'm talking with one of my favorite people. I think that she shook her head.

It's not bothering me but we should cut it off anyways so we can figure out how when we're not running for our lives. I'll be down in a bit. I'm just going to sit with Danielle until she wakes up, I love you. A smile found its way to my lips even though the sensory overload of the people talking around me and Sam's voice in my head.

Love you too Shade. I thought of my mind being my own again, with no thoughts in in but mine and felt a slight pulse between my eyes and I didn't hear Sam anymore. That was really cool. I had some small talk with Tuck and Cara about video games as she finished slicing the dead flesh off of my arm. She set her scalpel down with a grin.

"Here, all done. Now why don't you try to grow some skin back? I just want to see how damaged the rest of the arm is." I closed my eyes and bit my lip. I was able to grow a couple of layers of skin back just as easily as I had been able to heal the cut on my thumb yesterday. Tucker laughed, I assumed Caroline eyeing my arm in awe just like she did every time I used my powers to heal in front of her. I opened my eyes to see her with arms crossed and eyes wide.

"Am I good enough?" Cara nodded. The sound of feet colliding with the stairs filled the house and the girls entered the room. Danielle's hair was messed up with bedhead and she was rubbing a lipstick smudge off of her forehead.

"Mom kissed me." She whispered under her breath, Dani was trying to sound like she was frustrated but was failing miserably. "So, what'd I miss?" Tuck shook his head.

"Nothing much Ghosty. Now, who's with me for ordering pizza?" Everyone raised their hands, it was almost five and we were all getting hungry. "Good, I'll order the meat lover's special." Sam ran over and stole Tuck's phone from him.

"No. We're not having this conversation again." She handed Tucker's phone to me. "You know the drill Glowstick. Real food." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, small veggie for you, small meat for Tuck, and two large pepperoni for everyone else." Cara smiled and waited to speak until after I ordered the pizza.

"Do we have to have this argument every time that we have pizza?" Sam shook her head, a look as dark as obsidian in her eyes.

"Unfortunately, yes."

Dani floated over to the cookie jar and stuck an intangible hand into the clay lid. Sam and I both called out at the same time. "No Danielle."

The girl sighed a she floated over to my lap. I was a strange feeling having somebody other than Sam sit on my lap but having Danielle's little arms wrapped around me was sweet. It was all my mom could do not to break out the camera right then and there.

"Dang. I wanted a caramel-apple-doodle." Sam and I smirked at each other. We didn't need to use my new power to think so similarly, we were so close that I was almost reading her mind most of the time anyways. I had a eureka moment.

"Guys? I think that I just figured out my new power, How I was using it with Sam so easily. Tuck, can I try to do the whole mind thingy with you?" The techno geek rolled his eyes.

"Dude, you need to read more comic books. It's called telepathy, not mind thingy. Give the power some respect and use it's real name or I'll convince the whole town to start calling you Inviso-Bill." My eyes glowed bright green.

"Do you really want to do that Tucker?" The young man gulped.

"Never mind. Go ahead Dude, I'm good at dealing with the weird feelings." I ignored him as I reached out with my mind, closing my eyes momentarily. When I opened them again the world was misty. It was almost like somebody had put a layer of it over the earth. Over every person, was an animal made of mist. A cat was curling over Sam and a tiger looked like it was sitting on Tuck's head. Cara had a German shepherd floating above her. Dani had a bird that I couldn't identify over her. My mom was a lion and my dad was a hippo. Wow.

"This is so weird." I awed. My voice sounded like it was echoing as I heard it through the mist. "I think that I'm seeing your guys' minds. Not your brains but your consciousness'." As the people in the room cringed the animals responded. The Felines' hackles went up and so did the dog's. The bird over Dani raised its wings to make it look bigger. The hippo over my dad was bearing its teeth. I jumped slightly and held my hands up instinctively. "Cool it." I murmured. "I just want to get to Tucker."

Suddenly a misty animal that came from above me and darted forwards. The weasel like animal stood in front of Tuck's tiger and dipped its head. The tiger responded with the same slight nod and suddenly it didn't feel quite so empty in here. I figured that now was just as good a time to try as ever. Tucker? Are you in here?

The young man gasped and tapped the side of his head. Danny? Is that you? Did it work?

I sighed mentally, something that I knew Tuck could hear. No Tuck, it didn't work. You're just going crazy and are hearing my voice in your head just as I was trying to talk to you telepathically.

That's Danny. Awesome figuring out how to do that so quickly. Now get out of my head. I respected his wish and left. As soon as the mist left I figured out what the animal that had been hovering over me was.

"Damn it! I'm a badger!" I explained how I had made it work and there was a moment of silence before Sam, Dani and Tuck burst out laughing. The doorbell rang and Tucker stopped laughing as he ran to get the food. Sam wrapped an arm around me.

"It's okay Glowstick. We'll talk with Clockwork about it on Friday. He might explain why your brain's a badger. Okay?" I wrapped my arms around Danielle and leaned backwards in my chair.

"Fine."


	10. Ten: Withheld Information

Sam's POV

The next few days passed in our kind of normal. Ghosts attacked every couple of days, Danny healed so that his arm was only slight weaker than normal instead of being useless, and most importantly there were no more life changing surprises. Friday came quickly. We sat through school impatiently just like we did every Friday. Unlike most of the other teens were weren't anxious to get away from learning on Fridays, we were anxious to get to our other learning. Fridays were the days that we went into the Ghost Zone and Danny trained with Clockwork.

The training had started about a month after the disasteroid. It turns out that all young ghosts had a mentor, someone to teach them about their powers and the Ghost Zone. Because Danny was his responsibility according to the Observants, Clockwork was Danny's mentor. Every Friday Tuck, Cara, Dani and I came with him. Clockwork didn't teach us how to fight ghosts or how to unlock powers but we still learned anyways. At the same time Clockwork was teaching Danny how to use his physical powers he was telling him about the ways of the Ghost Zone. He would tell him about the laws, history, and sometimes even about lairs. I made sure that I had a notebook with me to write everything down that Clockwork told us about the Ghost Zone. If I didn't most of the important information that the Master of Time taught us would have been forgotten.

I was sitting in my last class of the day, English with Mr. Lancer. Danny, Tuck, Caroline and I were all sitting in a row, taking turns looking at the clock. It always seemed like the clock moved slower on Fridays even though Clockwork assured us otherwise. Mr. Lancer caught us looking at the clock and he sighed. He knew that the four of us never paid attention on Fridays. "Class, I'm letting you go five minutes early just this once. For homework read the first three chapters in Night."

Everyone scrambled like the desks were going to eat them if they stayed any longer than necessary. I tried to grab my books but Danny was faster. He smirked at me. "I get the carry your books. It's my right as boyfriend." I raised my eyebrows but I didn't protest as we rushed out of the classroom to our lockers. I noticed that Cara wasn't carrying her books either. Danny handed me my books back as I grabbed my backpack and jacket out of my locker. I stuffed my school stuff in the old spider bag and pulled the pleather jacket on just as Danny, Cara, and Tuck got their things ready to go. I slung my bag and Danny's over my shoulder and he smirked back at me.

"I'm guessing it's your right as girlfriend to carry my bag?" He asked me with a smile. I nodded.

"Yep, now let's go grab Ghosty." He and I walked over to the freshman wing ahead of Caroline and Tucker. Just like every day Danielle was standing right in front of her locker with her bag in hand and her hoodie on. The neon orange of her sweatshirt looked strange with the green and purple tank top but Dani didn't care. The orange was her favorite color so that's what she would wear.

"We're going into the Ghost Zone." She breathed with excitement. She grabbed both of our hands and stood between us like it was her rightful place. I couldn't disagree that it wasn't her place and neither could Danny. We stood by the lockers a minute more and Danny fazed his back pack off of me as we waited. I didn't protest, the bag was heavy. Finally Tuck and Cara ran down the hall. Danny and Danielle took that as their cues to transform.

"Going Ghost!" They called out in unison. Glowstick floated and grabbed Caroline's and Tucker's wrists, using his powers to help them fly. Dani squeezed my hand a bit tighter and I started to float too. We flew to Fenton works quickly, I was glad I had my hair up in my normal half ponytail otherwise my hair would have been more knotted than a fishing net. We landed gracefully on the steps to Fenton Works and the Phantoms transformed back into Fenton's. I opened the door and the four others rushed through before I closed the door. Danny grabbed four apples and a large strip of jerky from the kitchen. He passed out the apples to the other girls and me and handed the jerky to Tuck. We all stormed down the stairs into the lab after eating and dumping our bags in the kitchen corner.

"Mom! Dad! We're heading into the Ghost Zone to see Clockwork. We'll be back by dinner." Danny called out into the lab over the loud whir of the power tools.

"That's nice dear, be safe. Tell us about what you learned when you get back." Maddie called back. The rest of the humans and I climbed into the Specter Speeder as Dani and Glowstick got the portal open. I climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine. I slowly drove through the portal just in case there were ghosts on the other side waiting for it to be opened. The residents of the Ghost Zone didn't sit and wait for us to open the door often but I wasn't in the mood to have an angry ghost on my hands.

The swirling greens and purples of the ghost zone flooded my vision. I didn't need to think as I flew to Clockwork's tower. Multiple ghosts stopped and snarled at us before turning invisible before flying away. Glowstick and Dani were doing flips and loops as they soaked in the ectoplasm. I knew that they felt more energized here even if they didn't want to admit it. The air itself was supercharged with ectoplasm, it was almost like they were being injected with coffee. I barely watched the zone in front of me. I was driving in a real world item so I didn't really need to be as careful. I wouldn't crash.

I landed the Specter Speeder just beside Clockwork's tower. Danny opened the door from the outside and grinned. "How was the trip Guys?" He was unusually chipper, the last few days of almost nothing happening had been good.

"We were good, now inside before we're late. We only have an hour." Cara urged. She was still using logic as she thought. Tucker set a hand on her shoulder as he slid out of the speeder.

"Caroline, we're going to be in the room with a ghost who can stop time at will, I don't think that he's going to flip out if he needs to stop time for a while." He still did as she asked if only to suck up to her. I got out behind him with my notebook under my arm and a pen in my pocket. Danny took my hand and I looked around curiously.

"Where's Danielle?" Before Danny could answer a small figure appeared on his shoulders.

"Boo!" I only rolled my eyes in response even though my smile never left my face. The five of us all walked through the tower doors and the Phantoms had to fly us up the several stories to where Clockwork would meet us. It was a bit disappointing that ghosts didn't use stairs. The ghost was ready to see us but something was off. I couldn't figure out what yet but I was sure that I would find out soon.

"Daniel, Samantha, Tucker, Caroline, Danielle, You're early for once." Danny gave his mentor a slight bow as a sign of respect.

"School got out early today Clockwork. What would you like to start with?" The time master floated over to the edge of his tower and took several time medallions off of the wall. He tossed them over in our direction and one landed in each of our hands.

"Time inert." Clockwork declared, effectively making time go half as quickly as it would normally. His voice echoed slightly as he spoke and all of the clocks in his tower stopped. He invited us into the center of the room and as we walked several invisible ghosts brought bean-bag chairs. Yes, the master of time had invisible servants. It wasn't really that hard to accept. "Unfortunately, not of badgers like you had been intending to ask me about. Today Children, I am going to share some information that I have been keeping from you. I would have waited until you were older to tell you but the Observants have demanded that I tell you now."

We all sat down on the bean-bags and Danny folded his arms. "You mean that you have more information that's going to mess with our brains, right? Do ghosts even have brains or do we store our consciousness and information somewhere else?" Clockwork looked tiredly at Danny.

"Do you really want to know or are you just asking questions so that I don't give you information that you don't want?" When Danny didn't answer Clockwork took that as his answer. "I didn't really think so. Do you know how the change of power happens in the Ghost Zone?"

The question wasn't what we were expecting. I figured that we were going to be talking about Dani, Vlad, or maybe Dark Dan. I didn't thing that we were going to be talking about the Ghost Zone just like we did every week. Danny stuttered.

"N-No, not really. I thought that we were going to be talking about something life changing." He looked around warily. "When's the shit going to hit the fan?" Clockwork held up his hand for silence and Danny shut up.

"No swearing in my tower Daniel, and this is going to be life changing for you. As you know, there have only been two different rulers in the past three thousand years, The Observants and Pariah."

Danny stiffened at the name Pariah. I don't know why he reached that way whenever somebody mentioned the former king. Maybe it was because he was partially a ghost and had the unconscious fear that he was going to come into power again. Maybe it was because of something that had happened during their battle. I never pressured him about it. He made a strangled squeaking noise. I set a hand on his leg.

"Sorry. Please continue." Danny jumped as I said the word please. It wasn't a word that I used often. Clockwork cleared his throat.

"Good. Now the governmental system in the Zone has always been very similar to that of medieval Europe, Rule with an iron fist, get rid of all who get in your way, and then you get over thrown by the new leaders. The concept shouldn't be too hard for you to grasp children, I know that all of you do decently in history and knowing that you should have an adequate understanding of how things have always worked. Are you all following me so far children?"

We all nodded silently. I wasn't sure where Clockwork was going with this, he had never told us much about how the people that came into power did so. He had always said that it was more important to know how people were treated and to try to help those that were treated poorly. Clockwork nodded and I realized what was strange. He hadn't been swapping between his forms. He was only using his middle form, something that he only did when he didn't want to distract us. Something big was happening and I almost wanted to ask straight out what was going on, almost.

"That's good. The change of power was bloody, when power was taken from Pariah. He didn't give it up quietly. He loved causing the pain of his subjects and often disintegrated prisoners when he was bored as a sport." The old ghost's eyes were lost in memory. "When the Observants took over they stockpiled a group of their elite. They had no official name back then but now you know them as the Ancients. They were killed in battle but the Observants didn't care. They had control of the Ghost Zone." The pain in Clockwork's eyes was obvious but we didn't question him about what had happened. We gave him a moment to grieve what had happened before Danny set a hand on him mentor's hand.

"What happened next Clockwork?" He asked gently. The elder ghost steeled his emotions, pressing them down to be dealt with later.

"For a time Children, it looked like things would be better in the Ghost Zone. The Observants pain attention, they made sure that the younglings went to school and that the eldest spirits could rest quietly but they really didn't care." For the first time we heard the Time Master's voice bitter. I had always thought that Clockwork was so wise that he didn't let anything faze him but I must have been wrong. I didn't have as big a problem with that as Jazz did when she was wrong. "They got bored of being rulers after just three short years. They went back to doing absolutely nothing, just watching as they did in the days of Pariah. They did nothing when Pariah returned and let you deal with him instead Daniel. They figured that they would use you before they destroyed you.

I almost didn't want to know anymore. The Observants weren't deserving of the plushy afterlife that they had made sure that they had. That made me boil. "Dark Dan never needed to exist." Clockwork started slowly. "The only reason that he did was because the Observants had me meddle. They did it because they were scared. Even they couldn't escape the Law of Conquest."

Danny almost exploded. "HE DIDN'T NEED TO EXEST!" He roared. Danielle took about three steps back from the furious halfa and that's what snapped him out of it. He didn't want to scare Danielle. If he was scaring her, the toughest little girl that he had ever met, then it meant that he was crossing the line. Danny took a deep breath and clutched my hand like a lifeline. "What's the Law of Conquest?" He asked hoarsely. Clockwork allowed himself a smile.

"I told you that the Ghost Zone's laws were based on those from medieval times. Just like then, whoever defeats the king is the ruler of the Ghost Zone as long as they are of age. Pariah was the first king, the Ancients defeated him on behalf of the Observants, The Observants were forced into hiding when Pariah returned, effectively counting them defeated. You defeated Pariah single handedly and despite their trying to have me meddle with the time stream, they didn't defeat you."

We let that sink in for a moment. Danny laughed nervously. "You can't mean that I'm the new ruler." His voice gave out. Clockwork just continued watching him with a curious expression on his face. Danny's eyes grew wide, I reached over and took his hand. "I need more info." He said numbly. "What will I have to do? Will I have to do anything in Pariah's Keep? Doesn't everyone here hate me? What are the other ghosts going to do because I'm still partially human? Will I have to be in charge forever? Am I going to be alone? What about my human life? I'm this close to collage, do I have to give that up?"

Glowstick started rambling out more and more questions faster and faster. Tuck, Cara, and Dani were sitting around me, they turned and gave me a silent plea. Make him shut up. I turned to Clockwork and he nodded. "If I'm going to be able to tell him anything more he's going to need you to calm him down. We will wait a moment."

I stood up and pulled Danny up with me. He was still rambling questions out numbly, unaware of what was going on around him. I wrapped my arms around Danny's neck and then I kissed him. He froze up for a moment before coming back to the real world and kissing me back, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close. He had just started tangling his fingers in my hair when I broke the kiss off. "No making out in the tower." Danny whispered. I nodded.

"Back to figuring out what the hell is going on." Danny sat back down and instead of sitting down beside him I sat down on his lap. He wrapped his arms around me and I think that if I wasn't that close to him Glowstick would be running.

"Please continue turning my brain into a pile of useless snot." Tucker snorted and Cara slapped his arm so that he would shush. He had set his head on her knee and was stretched out so that he was laying on his side. Dani was on Glowstick's shoulders again. Clockwork smirked at how comfortable we had made ourselves.

"Even when you have been crowned king you'll have a group of ghosts to act as leaders for when you're in the human realm. You and your leaders will probably meet weekly, you will have to choose when and who they are. Other than that as you're still going to need to wear some kind of mark that is visible at all times so that the ghosts can identify you as their king. It doesn't really matter what it looks like as you're in human form but it will need to look like a crown in ghost form. Someone close to you will help you figure it out. You will have nothing to do with Pariah's Keep. You will have your own place to live in the Ghost Zone. Even if you weren't going to be the new ruler you would get your lair on your next birthday. I think that I'll help you get it early so that you'll have time to make it what you want before you're crowned king on your 18th birthday."

I sucked in a tense breath and Danny froze. Tucker and Cara shot upright. "You gave us 10 days warning, that's it? Danny's birthday is next Monday." Caroline breathed tensely. Clockwork waved her off.

"The Observants would have given you none. As I was saying Children, most of the ghost here don't hate you. They fear you and are only reacting as they think is necessary. When they see that you don't need to be feared they'll act differently. You'll need to show that you're not a pushover but other than that your new subjects shouldn't treat you any differently that they would treat any new ruler. You will be in charge for a long time Daniel, how long I'm not allowed to tell you but this won't be a short thing. Most importantly to you, you won't be alone Daniel. You have ghostly companions already Daniel, Frostbite, Dora, and I to name a few. And you have human friends too. Just look at the faces that come with you every Friday without fail to my tower and watch you train so they can help you. I can also tell you that you will have more family someday."

Danny did look around at us and his face only seemed to deflate. When he spoke his voice was broken. His eyes shined with unshed tears. "My friends and family are human. Unlike us they're not going to live forever. I'm going to lose them."

I leaned closer into Danny's cool chest and he gripped me tightly. Clockwork wasn't concerned. "Daniel, have you realized how much ectoplasm your friends have been exposed to? More than enough to assure that they will most defiantly become ghosts after they pass. Tucker has been overshadowed by you and others more times than you can count. The protection that Caroline uses when she treats your wounds is nowhere near protective enough. The only think that those gloves keep out is blood. Your daughter is a hybrid just like you that means that she too is a ghost." Clockwork smiled and glanced over at Danny and I. "And are you aware of the amount of ectoplasm in Daniel's saliva Samantha?" I turned strawberry red and Tucker burst out laughing.

"Sam's going to be a ghost because she's been making out with a ghost. That will be a lesson to tell the children of the world. Don't make out with ghosts because it turns you in one too." He shouted through his laughter. Danny shot an ecto-blast at the young man and he fell backwards, smacking his head against the stone floor of the tower. Glowstick was slightly happier knowing that wouldn't be left and wouldn't have to see us die. Danielle was sitting on her Daddy's shoulders and shivered slightly.

"Does this mean that I get to be a princess? Like Dora?" Ghosty asked with a voice that sounded like it belonged to the average four year old. She had grown close to the young dragon woman and seemed to think her the perfect ghostly role model. I was hoping that when she was old enough to have a mentor that she would be chosen as Dora's apprentice. Danny reached backwards and lifted the child from his shoulders and set her on my lap so that he was holding both of us at the same time.

"Yes Danielle, you get to be a princess. Just like I get to be a king," He stumbled over the word king like most people would stumble over the word ghost. Being in charge scared him, I think that was a good thing. "Tuck and Cara will probably get some kind of special title too." He was trying to dance away from the subject of what my title would be with Dani but for once she wasn't catching the hint.

"What about Mom?" In Danny's defense for his reaction, he had been having a very shocking week with only two days of chill time in between. Glowstick quickly set his fingers over her mouth.

"We are not going to jinx the future!" He declared frantically. "We jinx almost everything but we won't jinx this!" I burst out laughing, I was pretty sure that the future had something to do with the words Samantha Fenton/Phantom. Truthfully, I liked the way that sounded. Clockwork chuckled. He waved his time staff in the air once again, sending time moving at its normal speed. It was 5:15. The time that we left the tower every week.

"Daniel. I still have many things to inform you and your friends about but I don't enjoy the idea of overloading your brain. I assume that you'd like to have our meetings more often than just on Fridays? Am I correct?" The elder of the two halfas nodded. He was still in a fair amount of shock. I glanced over at him and quickly came to the conclusion that if he flew he would crash into something or somebody important. "I shall see four of you on Monday at 4:05." The master of time informed us. He didn't bother pretending to be inserting if anything was going on for us. His knowing everything was very annoying sometimes.

I stood and Dani fazed through me. She was still sitting on Danny's lap as I pulled him into a standing position. Caroline smacked Tucker's shoulder. "Tucker, Babe. Up. Now." The techno geek sat up without complaint. I was sure that he had been awake the whole time and hadn't been injured by Danny's Ecto-blast. I was sure they reason that he had continued to lay the way that he had been was so that he didn't accidentally tick Danny off.

"I'm driving." I declared. None of my friends or family were dim enough to try to disagree with me. All five of us bowed to Clockwork before we left.

"Thank you," Danny breathed. "For the warning." The master of time only nodded.

"All is as it should be. Have fun explaining this to your parents Children." I groaned, and Jazz had been wondering what our next surprise would be. This was going to be fun.


	11. Eleven: Lots of Lists

**Danny's POV**

Sam forced everyone into the Specter Speeder. She decided that with the shock that we just had it wouldn't be safe for Dani and I to be flying home on our own power. I kept the fact that with as much time as she was spending with my sister that she was sounding like Jazz to myself. She was right but that didn't mean that I wasn't going to protest. Me. A king. The thought was laughable. Apparently my friends didn't find it quite so funny. We were silent the entire ride home. It wasn't the awkward kind of silence, it was comforting, almost like all of my friends had set a hand on my shoulder to show a that they were behind me 100 %.

We landed the Specter Speeder and everyone scrambled out of the vehicle. Danielle flew straight upwards to get Jazz and Sam ran upstairs to make sure that my mom didn't make something deadly for dinner. That left Cara, Tucker and I to get my dad out of his own little world and into the real world. For once it actually wasn't hard. Tucker and Cara sent me ahead of them to tap my Dad. It wasn't because they were scared of whatever my dad was building blowing up on them but because my dad had a habit of clapping people on the back so hard that it either crushed bones or knocked you to the floor. I was the one with the strongest bones.

"Dad!" I hollered over the roar of his welder. "We're having and emergency family meeting! It's about ghosts!" At the word ghosts my dad flipped the welder off.

"Why didn't you just say so in the first place Danny-Boy?" He whirled around and patted me on the back on his way to the stairs. Just like usual, I was sent flying to the ground. At least some things stayed normal.

"Because I didn't want you and Mom to go burn down some innocent ghost's haunt." I murmured under my breath. Cara pulled me to my feet and checked for spinal fractures. Why she wanted to do the extra checking, I don't know but I still let her. For some reason doing her job always calmed her down, it turned her into somebody that was defiantly necessary to be a super hero. She was one of the toughies, similar to Sam. I was glad that Tuck found her.

"You're good." Cara declared even though we knew that I was perfectly fine. "Let's go upstairs and make sure that the zombie apocalypse isn't starting. With the surprises this week I wouldn't be surprised if it was." I had no remark to that comment.

We trudged up the stairs to find my mother, father, girlfriend, sister, and daughter all sitting at the table. They were all pushing their pasta around on their plates with their garlic bread. There were three empty seats at the table. Tuck, Cara, and I sat down. I was uncomfortable, I really didn't know how to start this conversation. Sam? I begged. Shade rolled her eyes.

You know that you're a wimp? Right? Just blurt it out and then we'll give them the rest of the story. That's what we do every time that we have something big to talk about over dinner. I sent Sam the puppy dog eyes to try to get her to start the conversation but she was almost immune to the eyes. Damn.

"So." I started matter of factly. "We just found out that I'm going to be crowned king of the Ghost Zone in 10 days. Have I mentioned that I'm going to basically be in charge for an indefinite amount of time and that my best friends are going to be ghosts some day?" Jazz chocked on a bit of the penne.

"You what?" She gasped after downing a glass of water. I opened my mouth before my mom cut me off with a stern look.

"From the beginning Kids. Now." I glanced over at Tucker. He shrugged.

"Fine, you dropped the bomb. Do you want the way beginning or the beginning that happened today?" All three of my elder family members were clutching their forks so hard that their knuckled were white.

"Way beginning." They declared with certainty. Tuck shot the next look at Sam. She sighed but still took over.

"Remember when Pariah Dark shoved Amity Park into the Ghost Zone a few years back…"

We spent the next two and a half hours explaining all of what we learned. I cleared the plates after dinner and grabbed everyone notebooks, something that Jazz was grateful for. With all of the lectures she had listened to and all of the collage that she was doing she was used to taking notes. I made sure that I had enough notebooks for everyone as we were probably going to be talking about this newly found information that rest of the night. I'm pretty sure that Dani was only doodling in her book though.

"You mean to tell us that you are going to be the Ghost Zone's ruler as of your 18th birthday?" My dad asked me. I nodded, for some odd reason I was sure I was going to get in trouble. Why I would be in trouble I don't know but I was still a teenager even if I had superpowers. I never would have ever expected my Dad's reaction through. "So does this mean that I can be a ghost jailer Danny-Boy? I'd really like to but those spooks in their place!"

My reaction must have been comical because Danielle snorted and spilt her glass of water all over the table. I froze the pool of liquid with a touch as Dani continued her giggle fit. "Daddy." She gasped, laughing so hard that she was crying. "That was awesome." I rolled my eyes and grabbed a towel before unfreezing the ice so that I could sop up the mess.

"Danielle. I love you baby but please, let's try to keep the water in the glass." Dani nodded vigorously.

"Yes Your Highness." She couldn't keep it together anymore. She fell to the ground laughing hysterically at my reaction to being called Your Highness. Sam, Jazz, Tuck, and Cara were all having issues keeping their laughter in too. I shook my head.

"Just go ahead and laugh, you know that you want to and it would make more sense to burst out laughing here instead of someplace where nobody knows what's going on like school." That's all I needed to say for my friends to lower their walls. They too, fell apart in their fits of laughter. I had to wait a good twenty minutes before by some miracle, they regained some of their sanity.

"Kay Tuck, get your butt off of the floor. It's not funny anymore. Dani has the excuse to laugh because she's just found out that she's a princess and she needs to cope, Sam laughs at Danny whenever she can, she's his girlfriend and she's got some strange ghost rights. And Jazz hasn't let loose since her first year of college and she's graduating med school next month. You and I get to shut up now."

I smiled at Cara's attempt to stop Tucker from losing his mind. I set a hand on her shoulder. "Take a deep breathe Caroline. Tucker and I have basically been brothers since we were 3. He's the person that pushed me over to talk to Sam when we were 5, he's the person that I called when I was 9 and had no idea what to do when my computer crashed because if I asked Dad to fix it the computer would probably try to eat me. He came over and had it fixed within the hour." I chuckled softly. "He's also the person who helped Sam carry me out of the Fenton Portal when I half killed myself and then sat in the hospital for days on end as I recovered. He has just as much right as Jazz to laugh his ass off."

As I recalled how close Tuck and I had been ever since we were little. My friends- no, my family were calming down and pulling themselves up into their chairs. Everyone had a smile on their face, even me. "And I'm also the that'll be one of your helpers as you get used to this ruler stuff, the person that'll be calming you down as you pace when you and Sam are getting married and your scared that you can't be everything she needs, and someday, a long time from now, I'll be telling Dani's little brother or sister about how amazing his or her parents are and how not only their royalty but their also the kid of two super heroes, one of them being Captain Daniel Fenton."

Sam and I were blushing like crazy by the time Tuck was done but we didn't deny any of that was going to be true. "Right now, we're working on the ruler stuff." My mom reminded us gently. Unfortunately, she was right. We needed to focus on this prince stuff.

I cleared my throat. "You're right." I flipped to a clean page in my notebook and smoothed it with my hand. "We have a bunch of things to do before my birthday even comes around. We need to design this crown thing, contact the Box Ghost so he doesn't panic, need to find extra training time with Clockwork, continue keeping school grades at a good level, find out how to get this lair thing early, get said lair ready, and close up the spare portals in town so that ghosts don't flood in as quickly as the can as soon as they hear about this. Am I missing stuff?"

Both my mother and sister nodded. "Unfortunately Danny, you are. Admittedly that suit that Sam designed for you is nice but is it really what you need to be king?" I stubbornly crossed my arms.

"I'm quite partial to my suit, it's cool, comfortable, stylish, and functional. What more do I need?" Dani actually walked through the table over to me. She sat on my lap just like it was her spot by default.

"Daddy, you need to look the part too. I'm sure that Mom can help you make your suit snazzy but you'll probably need the kind of fairy tale clothes that princes and kings wear. Just like how Mom and I'll need royal clothes too?" She turned as she asked me her question. Her big blue eyes were pleading and she had her lip quivering just like Sam did whenever she wanted something. If Dani didn't have the puppy dog look down then I was a hippopotamus.

"We'll talk to Dora about that. She's been ruling in the Ghost Zone for a while and I definitely am going to need all of the help that I can get. Sam?" The woman looked at me pityingly and shook her head.

"Sorry Glowstick, we'll need to change the suit a bit and get you other clothes that are suitable for the work you'll be doing. I'm not happy about it either. You look nice in this newest suit. I do demand that the next one be sleeveless though." I had to agree with her, the sleeveless part was nice. I finally gave in.

"Fine. Do we have other things to talk about for this to-do list or can I flip to a new page for a new list?"

"Danny, Tomorrow's start of the two year anniversary of Disasteroid week. You agreed to have a massive three hour interview on Friday to keep the reporters off of your tail for the rest of the year. That's why you don't have training on Friday." I sighed and wrote that down on the to do list.

"Is there anything else to add to this list?" I asked wearily. Nobody objected to me turning the page. "What are we going to keep secrets? We're going to need to tell some people about Danielle for safety reasons so who are we going to tell about that? What about the whole ruler of the Ghost Zone stuff? It looks like we're starting with some secrets again. Which ones are we going to try to keep?"

"Danielle being our little girl." Sam started immediately. "That's going to come out but not yet. It's only been a week." I nodded. Dani stepped off of my lap and started hovering over the table.

"How come the two of you call me little? I'm not a little baby!" She pouted. I chuckled softly.

"Dani, Baby, how old are you?" The little ghost girl turned bright pink.

"I'll be 4 in December."

"That's why." Sam explained as Dani floated back over to me and sat on my lap. She looked ready to disappear and she actually did.

"You'll be able to see me again when you stop staring at me."

We tried to stop focusing on the girl but Dani wasn't someone that was easy to ignore. "Lancer." I declared. "We'll have to tell Lancer about Dani, the nurse too. And the ghosts are so nosy that everyone there will know within a week. Everyone else we'll leave until later. How does that sound?" Everyone nodded, content. "Danielle?" Sam and I called out in unison.

"Sounds good." A voice replied from the lighting fixture. She turned visible and sure enough Dani was handing upside down like Tarzan from the light. I face palmed and Sam just shook her head and spoke like this was an everyday thing. It did happen at least once a week.

"Off Danielle. What time is it? Somebody?" Jazz checked her watch.

"About a quarter to eleven. Why?" I understood where she was going and so did Danielle. For some odd reason whenever the ghost girl got sleepy she got hyper. It was almost like she was on a sugar rush. It was the buzz before she crashed.

"I'll go get my pajamas on." Dani groaned. She was frustrated despite the fact that she had already stayed up late. As she ran up the stairs Tuck started tapping a rhythm on the table as he thought.

"We're not going to be telling the world that you're king? Are we?" The thought sounded more exhausting than fighting Pariah again.

"No. Things have only just settled down and as soon as some snoop lets out that Dani's ours the world's already going to turn itself over. We don't need to add more fuel to that fire. I was planning on just on saying that I had a political position in the Zone. It wouldn't really be lying but still. It would be better than having to be stuck in Fenton works again." Caroline's jaw dropped. I shrugged my shoulders in response. "What did I do this time Cara?"

"You actually thought out a plan. With no help. And it's smart." I sighed.

"You know, people would think that I was a Neanderthal if they couldn't see me with how you guys react when I think. I can think. I'm usually just too busy." Dani walked down the stairs with her plush Cujo in hand.

"Mom? Daddy? Are you going to tuck me in or not?" She asked sleepily. The girl looked ready to curl up on the floor right there and sleep. It was something that I knew she could do. Dani and I could both sleep just about anywhere.

"Yeah. We're coming. Head on upstairs and we'll be there in a minute Ghosty." Sam assured her. Danielle only nodded and started walking up the stairs.

"We'll talk more about this later?" I asked the rest of my family. They all nodded and rubbed their eyes.

"I'll come over about 9 tomorrow. What about you Cara?" The woman shrugged.

"The same. I should probably head home know. Care to give me a ride home Babe?"

"I'd love to." The two of them walked out of Fenton Works with barely a glance back at the rest of us. And they call us the lovebirds. Jazz lifted up her arms and stretched.

"I'm heading to bed too. Good night." We all returned the goodnight and my parents waved to Sam and I before they headed down to the lab to do their last night check to make sure the equipment was off before they went to bed. Sam and I quickly walked up the stairs and darted to the door of Dani's room. She had fallen asleep while sitting in her desk chair waiting for us. I smiled and picked her up, carefully tucking her in as I laid her down on her bed.

"Night Ghosty." Sam murmured softly before exiting the room. I pressed a soft kiss on the girl's head

"Goodnight Danielle." I walked straight through the wall and into Sam's and my room. I pulled of my shirt and socks and pulled on a pair of gym shorts as Sam was facing the other direction. I laid down next to her and she snaked an arm around me just like she did every night.

"Love you." I whispered.

"Love you too Glowstick. See you in the morning." She murmured in return. I fell into a light, comfortable, sleep, until ghosts woke me up. Some things never change.

* * *

**Hola Peeps! I'm still writing this, nobody panic! I plan on posting two chapters a week until this is done, one on Wednesday and the other on Saturday or Sunday with the occasional bonus chapter. I have a plan, nobody fear. Or kill me for cliffhangers. Later Phans!**


	12. Twelve: Friged Fear

**HOLA! Hey Phans, I've got a present for you... Two chapters! Whatcha think of the new cover? It's Dani and her redesign she gets soon. Read and Review, you know the drill. BYE!**

**Sam's Pov**

It would have been so much easier if I would have just stayed asleep. The covers of the bed were so warm and even though Danny had left to go fight some annoying ghost about 45 minutes ago I could still feel where he had been. He still had his mind partially linked with mine so I knew that he was fine. I knew that he wasn't even trying to keep the link up, it was just there. Over the last couple of days we had been figuring out how to make the telepathy work. I could even open the link with Danny even though nobody else could. He couldn't share his thoughts with other people when he couldn't see them. We figured that it had something to do with how close we are.

"Mom. Mom, you need to get up. Something's wrong." Danielle. I sat up and rubbed my eyes like a child.

"Ghosty? Baby what's wrong?" I started to wake up enough so that I could realize more details. Dani was standing next to the bed shivering violently, almost like she was ill despite the fact that it was easily 72 degrees in the room. I set a hand on her shoulder and even through the soft flannel fabric of her long sleeved pajamas that she was cold, much colder than Danny. She was literally as cold as an ice cube.

"I don't what's wrong." She answered in a wobbly voice. "But that's not my biggest problem. I can't find Daddy and my powers are acting strange. I don't know what to do. I'm just so cold Mom and it hurts!" She must have been getting a new power, the only one that I could think of was the ice powers that Danny got back when we were 15. He had been really cold but he never told me that it hurt. Then again Danny was an idiot who thought that nobody needed to know about his pain.

"Dani. It's going to be okay. Why don't you go get into some nice warm clothes, okay? I'm going to get a hold of Daddy so that we can get you warm again. After your dressed come on back in here, okay?" The child nodded.

"Okay Mom. I'll be back in just a couple of minutes." She left the room and I quickly reached out to the mist, the little badger that stood for Danny's mind shivered before running to my mind.

_Danny! Where are you?_ His response was startled. He clearly hadn't expected for me to be up at this time of night.

_I'm over down by Axion. Cujo came out and I wanted to make sure that he didn't mess anything up for Mr. Grey. What's going on?_ I explained quickly and the emotion of shock washed over my mind in a wave. _Sam?_

_Yes Glowstick. I'm still listening._

_You need to get to the Far Frozen. They have equipment that can help Dani. She might pass out from being cold like I did. Tell Frostbite that I'm on my way and that I'll explain everything when I get there. You're going to need to take the Speeder, if Dani tries to fly she might crash. I did that too when I first got those powers._ I nodded even though Danny couldn't see me. He would probably know I was nodding anyways.

_See you in about 15 minutes?_ I asked hopefully. Another emotion washed over me in a wave, this time happiness.

Of course I will. Fly safe Shade. I told him I would and we broke off the connection. I pulled on some jeans, a tee shirt, and a sweatshirt before pulling on some socks and my combat boots. My parka was on the floor in the closet so I just draped it over my shoulder. Dani fazed through the wall and was still shivering underneath her normal everyday clothes, sweatshirt, and parka.

"What are we going to do?" She asked me softly. I led her out of the room and down to the kitchen to write a sticky note just in case when Jack came down for some fudge to snack on and he didn't see any of us in our rooms he wouldn't start a riot.

"We are going into the ghost zone." Dani snickered.

"Mom. Did you glance at a clock yet this morning?" I looked over at a microwave. It was 3:49. Perfect. I waved off the time despite the fact that I had only gotten about four hours of sleep.

"It doesn't matter. Frostbite wouldn't care if it was midnight on his birthday. It's a favor for Danny." Dani only nodded. She followed me down the stairs and stumbled a couple of times. I tried to chalk it up to it being dark but she was probably just distracted because of the cold. She transformed and I frowned. "In the front seat Danielle." I instructed. She glanced over at me in frustration.

"Why can't I fly?" She demanded.

"Because your Daddy said so Ghosty Girl." She climbed into the front seat without any other complaint, she was too tired to get into a fight with me right now. Dani laid her head on the window on her side of the Speeder and the glass went frosty as she zoned out. I gazed back over at her every couple of minutes to make sure that she was okay. My protectiveness was strange to Danielle so she kept on glancing over at me every couple of minutes with a slight smile on her face.

I landed in the Far Frozen, next to Frostbite's cave. I climbed out of the Speeder and Dani tried to float but instead gave up and walked over to my side. I knocked on the icy exterior of the door. It was opened immediately by one of the smaller snow monsters. It gasped. "Sam of the Very Vegan!" I rolled my eyes.

"I'm going to kill Danny for that one." I mumbled under my breath. "Is Frostbite here?" I asked in a normal The yeti nodded and before he could let me in the very ghost I was looking for came forwards.

"Sam of the Very Vegan, Where is the Great One?" I thought that things would be going smoothly for just a minute before Dani passed out. It wasn't the kind of pass out that she did when she didn't want to talk with Danny, it was the kind of passing out that she didn't have any kind of control over. My reflexes were good enough that I was able to catch her before Dani hit the ground. She blue.

"He'll be here soon. He'll explain everything." I said quickly. "Just, help her." I didn't need to say anything more. Frostbite carefully took Danielle in his arms and started walking to what I assumed was the medical center. It took me a good four steps to match each of his one but I still kept up. Frostbite strapped an oxygen mask on her face and she was loaded in a big glass cylinder. It was loaded with a clear liquid that I wasn't sure if it was water or not. I didn't bother to ask. Frostbite continued doing who knows what as I sat by Dani's tube. Then Danny flew through the door as the Phantom.

"Where's Danielle?" He asked franticly. He was panting heavily. He must have gone top speed across the city from Axion back to Fenton Works, not to mention across the zone. I crossed the medical center and gave him a hug. He held me tightly. "Where is she Shade?" I pointed to the middle glass tube and Danny walked forwards. He caught his breath and set a hand on the glass. "It's so different to be on this side of the glass." He murmured softly.

I stood beside him and took his hand, "She's going to fine. She didn't pass out until we got here." Danny clutched my hand tightly and bit his lip.

"I now that she will, that doesn't make me worry any less." We sighed in unison before Frostbite cleared his throat. When we turned and saw him he looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Pardon me for asking Great One but.." His voice trailed off but Danny only smiled.

"You're wondering why my girlfriend came here in the middle of the night with a little girl you've never seen in your afterlife who happens to have powers very similar to mine and why I didn't just bring her myself or wait until tomorrow, am I correct?" The ice ghost nodded mutely. I raised my eyebrows at Danny, he was good at that. I rubbed my eyes without thinking and then tried to make it looked like I had just gotten a speck of dust in my eye or something. I wasn't fooling anyone.

"Do you require rest Sam of the Very Vegan?" I tried to deny it but Danny sighed. He knew the reason that I didn't want to just fall asleep.

"Sam. Go to sleep. I've already gotten a few hours and I don't need as much sleep as a normal human. You still need to rest. I'll sit up and watch Dani. She'll be fine and I'll wake you up if she wake's before you. I caught up on sleep this week, I'm fine, you're not." I knew that there was no use at all to try to protest but that doesn't mean that I wasn't going to try.

"What about explaining why I came here at 4am on a Friday with Dani? Shouldn't I explain about that? Or about how we even know Dani? Or about everything that was thrown at us this week?" Danny gave me a gentle hug and cupped my cheek in his hand.

"I know the story just as well as you do Shade. There's a bed just around the corner where you can rest, just please Sam, Sleep." We had a glaring contest that Danny won easily. I threw my hands in the air before wrapping them around his neck.

"Fine. One kiss first and then wake me if Dani wakes up before me." Danny's lips brushed against mine softly.

"I will. Now go to bed Sam. I mean it." I rolled my eyes as I walked down the hall. I looked back to see Danny turning over to Frostbite. "So our adventure this week started on Sunday afternoon…"

I walked off before hearing any more. It felt like we had told so many people about this week that we may as well record us talking about what happened. I found the room that Danny had been talking about. It didn't surprise me that he knew where things were here. He had stayed with the Far Frozen a couple of times before and all Ghosts still did need to sleep, just not nearly as much as a human. The bed was soft and the covers were slightly fuzzy. I closed my eyes and sighed. The bed seemed so cold without Danny but I still fell asleep quickly.

When I woke up the air was somewhat warmer. I don't know if that was because it was later in the day or because I was there and my warm breath had made the area slightly warmer. I didn't care. I hadn't been woken up and that meant that Dani hadn't woken up yet. I trudged out of the small room where I had been sleeping to find Danny, Frostbite, and Cara looking at a computer screen as Tuck was doing something with his PDA. "What's going on?" I asked groggily.

Everyone turned and smiled. There was a collective shout of Sam from the teens and a respectful "Sam of the Very Vegan" from Frostbite. I looked over at Dani and saw that the color was coming back to her skin. She was only a very pale blue now but she still wasn't her usual tan. "How long was I asleep?" I asked Danny and Frostbite. Danny rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"You can't get angry." He murmured. I rolled my eyes and gestured for him to continue. "It's one in the afternoon Shade." I almost murdered him.

"Daniel Matthew Fenton/Phantom, You have thirty seconds to escape my wrath." His face went slack.

"I'll be back when you're calm!" He exclaimed. He flew up by the ceiling and turned invisible as I walked over to Dani.

"You know Sam, he just wanted to make sure that you got enough sleep." Tuck soothed. I gritted my teeth.

"I know, give me a minute of wrath. I'll be good after that. He's probably only invisible over Dani's tube." I set a hand on the cold glass. Danielle didn't stir and my anger melted. "How come she hasn't woken up yet? She's been in there for six hours. She was only out for ten minutes before we got her into the tank." Just as I suspected Danny was sitting on the top of the tube. He turned visible, still in Phantom form before floating down to me.

"Sam, she may have only been out for ten minutes but she's also had the ice energy building for three years. I was out for six hours and my energy had been building for a year and a half. Frostbite agrees with me that it could be another six hours or more until she wakes up. I figured that you could use the sleep." I poked him in the chest.

"You're forgiven goofball. May I ask why you're the half of you that's so much colder? You're cold in Phantom form that it makes my lips almost burn with cold when I kiss you." Danny leaned in a little bit closer. His head was so close that when he breathed I could feel his breath tickling my face. He whispered,

"Does it bother you?" I shook my head just a little as Danny leaned down closer and the tip of his nose touched mine.

"Of course not." With my response he kissed me slowly, almost lazily. Frostbite had walked out of the room for just a few minutes so he wasn't bothering with just a quick little brush against my lips. He was savoring the kiss. He leaned back so that I could breathe in some of that important stuff known as air.

"The reason I'm still in ghost mode is because I'm only wearing a pair of gym shorts on my human body. That's not really a look that I should have if I'm going to need to gain respect." I laughed softly and wrapped my arms around his bare ones.

"Okay Your Highness." He blushed dark green at those three little words.

"You and Danielle both need to stop that. It's distracting." I laughed and ignored him as I walked up to whatever Cara was looking at.

"What's this?" Caroline looked over at me with eyes shining.

"It's an MRI of Danny. Frostbite was teaching Danny and I about ghostly internal organs. Jack and Maddie are going to flip when they see these scans. They thought that all ghosts but Danny were made solely of ectoplasm but most of them have a bone structure and internal organs!" I raised my eyebrows and started asking questions but my heart wasn't in it. I kept on glancing over at the big glass tank that held Dani. I was suddenly very thankful that I hadn't been here when Danny was in the Far Frozen, I would have lost my mind.

"Sam." Tucker said suddenly. "Why don't you and Danny go grab something to eat? The last time you ate was at Dinner yesterday and neither of you ate a whole bunch because you were talking so much. Cara and I can watch Dani for you." I hesitated.

"But, what if she wakes up while we're gone? I don't want her to wake up and find that we're not here." Cara caught on to what Tuck was trying to do.

"Tucker's right." She said firmly. "If you two continue sitting here you're just going to start to flip out and create false possibilities in your minds. Go eat something and talk to some of the other ghosts. Dani will be fine, trust me, I'm a doctor. I know what I'm talking about." I glanced over at the unconscious girl in the glass and my heart continued to feel like someone was squeezing it. I felt a large, fluffy hand on my shoulder that was gently guiding me to the door. It's other hand reached out and did the same to Danny.

"Great One, your companions are right. You need to take a break. We shall watch the child belonging to you and Sam of the Very Vegan. She will be perfectly safe in our hands." We were pushed out of the medical center and both Danny and I yelled some words that wouldn't be allowed in Clockwork's tower as the lock clicked.

"Let me try to faze through the wall." Danny growled. He only ended up smacking his head on the wall. "Damn it!" He yelled as he tried to claw his way into the medical center with his bare hands.

"Glowstick!" I yelled. He stopped trying to force his way into the building.

"They just forced us away from our little girl." He growled. I nodded, the same anger in his eyes mirrored mine.

"I know that they did Danny, but she's with Tucker, Cara, and Frostbite. They'll take care of her." He almost seemed to sink and glared at the door with tears in his eyes. I took his hand and pulled him to the kitchens, standing behind them nobody could see us. I sat down as his tears started to fall. "Sit down Danny. Come on. You need to release. You didn't sit down and explode with emotion on Sunday when we found out what Vlad did to Dani and that she was ours, you didn't freak out when you got your arm burned to a crisp, you didn't have any explosion when you found out that you were going to be king yesterday, and finally Dani got a new power in the middle of the night and now we're just sitting here for her to wake up. Let the stupid dam break."

I smiled a bit as I realized that he told me the same little phrase on Monday. Danny sunk to his knees. He was gasping in breaths as he finally let the tears fall with his shields. I crawled over so that I was kneeling beside him in the snow.

I started to assure him that things would turn out alright. That he would still have people standing beside him whatever happened. That he would never turn into Dan. That he would be a good Dad. A couple of times the cooks came out back to see what all the racket was about and if the Great One was okay. Every time they came out I gestured for them to go away now with a wave of my hand. The snow ghosts were surprised that Pariah's Bane was crying but as soon as they saw my glare they knew that it would probably be a good time to go away.

After an undetermined amount of time Danny calmed. He sniffled and I smiled as I helped him wipe his tears away. "Sorry for being a baby." He muttered. "I shouldn't have flipped out like that." I laughed softly as I pressed a kiss on his nose.

"Sane Danny, not a baby, but sane. I've seen you cry, Tucker cry, your Mom, Jazz, Cara, heak I've even seen Dora, Skulker, and Frostbite cry but not once have I seen Vlad, Walker, or Dan cry. Emotion helps keep you sane Danny. If we didn't feel anything we would have gone insane living in Amity Park." Danny smiled and sniffled as he continued to get a grip.

"That was the most un-Goth thing that I have ever heard." He shifted his position and blushed. "You know that when we were talking with Clockwork about all of this royalty stuff one of the only things that I could think about was how hilarious your parents are going to look when they find out that you're dating a king and they disowned you right before they could have gotten in on any of the uppity stuff they love so much."

Glowstick blushed a darker green and started to glow a brighter. "And?" I prompted.

"And I was hoping that someday I could make you my queen." He whispered. I smiled bigger than any Goth should, but then again, I wasn't the average Goth.

"Are you proposing to me Your Highness?" I asked playfully to lighten the mood. Danny smiled too even though he was still cherry red.

"Kind of, it's more like a pre-proposal. I don't have a ring yet or anything. Plus engagement for royalty must be like, forever or something." I pulled Danny up and he slung an arm around my waist as we started to walk around front to where we were actually supposed to go into the kitchen.

"I say yes to your pre-proposal. Now let's grab some food, go grab a couple of things from the Speeder, and get back to Danielle."

"That sounds like a good plan Shade."


	13. Thirteen: Waiting for Waking

**Danny's POV**

I managed to convince some of the snow ghosts to give some of their vegetables to Sam. I have no idea how they were able to get the veggies, maybe they imported them. Shade grabbed my hand and pulled me to the Speeder as soon as we were done eating. "Uh, Sam? What are we doing? It's not like we're leaving." She rolled her eyes.

"No way in hell are we leaving. I just thought that we should do something productive so we don't lose our minds. I have a sketchbook in the Speeder. I was going to doodle." I raised my eyebrows curiously.

"How is doodling productive Shade?" She punched me in the shoulder as we arrived at the vehicle. She grabbed a handful of mechanical pencils and little black drawing pad with my logo in silver drawn on the cover. The book was one I saw often. It was the only one that Sam ever used to design things related to Phantom. Her eyes hiding a secret, ideas were swimming behind her lavender irises and deep inside her mind.

"If I'm right you need some new threads again. I have less than two weeks to design your new suit and other fancy ghost clothes." I grabbed another few notebooks, Mine and Cara's. Cara would want to make notes and I would probably start making more plans about the Zone.

"You are amazing. Just saying. I love you." Sam hooked one arm with mine as we started on our way back.

"You're a suck up Glowstick. Shut up while you're ahead." I smirked with a slight smiled as we arrived at the medical center again. I tried the door and it was still locked. I huffed. "Let us in!" I yelled out in frustration. Sam started pounding on the door with her fist.

"We left for a while, grabbed a bite of food, we even went to the Specter Speeder to grab some of our stuff. Now open this damn door and let us in!" The tone in her voice made it clear that she was ticked. Not surprisingly, Tucker opened the door in seconds.

"Don't kill me." He muttered as he let us in. She gave him a perfect death glare.

"You're being spared. For now. But know that I hate you right now" Shade walked to the middle of the room and sat down cross-legged on the floor next to where Dani floating in the de-icing chamber. I floated over to where she was sitting and landed so that I was stretched out in the air on my stomach beside her.

I had just started to make a list of the people to be on this board the Clockwork was talking about when I heard a shout from several voices. "Great One!" I sighed and rose to my feet.

"Yeah? I'm here." Frostbite and two of his generals came scrambling from one of the halls with large, toothy smiles on their faces. Frostbite cleared his throat.

"Great One, we have a visitor coming from one of the neighboring realms that would be honored to meet you. Her people are extremely kind and would be powerful allies for you, especially during your rise to power."

My rise to power. I almost laughed at the way the ghosts said it. They were talking about it like it was some amazing wonder, not something I was doing because I was told that it was something that I had to do. I had to think for a moment. Was I going to be able to listen to this woman? Would I be able to pay attention? I glanced over at Sam sitting cross legged beside Dani. I rubbed my temple, a headache was blooming behind my eyes. I looked back at Frostbite and his generals. I sighed, they were so excited for me to meet this ghost lady.

"I'll talk with her under one condition." I started softly. The yeti ghosts nodded eagerly for me to continue. "I'll meet with her as long as I meeting her here."

The faces of the ghosts fell. "But Great One-" For once I cut Frostbite off, sticking to my guns.

"But nothing. Do any of you have kids?" Frostbite and second in command, General Shard, nodded.

"My wife just had our first cub last week." Frostbite said softly. I continued on like it hadn't made me want to giggle that Far Frozen called children cubs.

"Dani is MY cub." I explained firmly. "Sam and I only found that out a week ago. Not only that but Danielle has trust issues. I trust you and your people with my life but Dani only really trusts Sam and I. That means we will NOT leave her." Frostbite studied me like he was debating if fighting with me over this was worth it. He must have come to the conclusion that it wasn't because he only gave me a small bow of respect.

"As you wish Great One, we shall summon her here." I nodded and softened slightly.

"Thank You. I'm sorry for snapping. I'm just nervous." Frostbite nodded, understanding flooded his face.

"All is well Great One. Rest with your family." I nodded as he and his men walked away and out of the medical center. I tried to flop myself down on the ground next to Sam but I didn't make it that far. I felt myself stop suddenly about three inches off of the ground. The air itself was in my way. I made a strangled yelp of surprise when I was met with resistance before the ground. I had forgotten that I was in ghost mode.

"Well Glowstick, I wouldn't try that again." I chuckled softly as I started to mold a weapon in my hands. I really didn't know what I was making and I really wasn't paying attention, I was just letting my hands go without my mind. I was actually watching Sam. She was biting her lip as she drew, a large portion of her hair had fallen out of her ponytail and into her eyes, every few minutes she would get a spark of idea and start to scribble excitedly.

Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I set the weapon that I now realized was a nicely made sword and started to press small kisses on Sam's cheek. She looked at me in confusion. "Whatcha doing?" She whispered.

"Kissing you." I breathed. Sam smiled slyly and turned her face so the next time I tried to press a kiss on her face I got her lips instead.

"Do it the right way the first time next time Glowstick." I sat back down and was able to continue working on the sword again. I started to actually pay half attention to it but every couple of minutes I would glance back at Sam. She would look up, share a smile, and we would go back to what we were doing. We continued like that for another half hour or so until the doors slammed open.

Everyone in the room jumped and I floated into an upright position. Frostbite was waking in with a young girl trailing behind him with metallic locks the color of pure silver. She couldn't have been older than five years old. She skipped through the air over to me and was wearing a red party dress. "Hello Mr. Phantom. My mama will be here soon. I am the princess of the visions. My name is Artimis, but you can call me Missy."

I knew that she was small but I still decided to talk with the girl. It didn't matter that she was young. She was still a soul for me to get to know. "Well then, if I'm going to call you Missy then you should call me Danny. When people call me Mr. Phantom it makes me feel old."

Missy giggled and caught sight of Dani. "Who's that?" She asked in wonder. I could tell just by the energy she was putting out that she wasn't an ice ghost like me. She had probably never seen a de-icing chamber in use before.

"That's my little girl Danielle. I'm waiting for her to wake up." Missy stared at the chamber with intelligent curiosity.

"Is she going to be okay? She's blue." I laughed softly.

"Yeah, she's going to be fine. She just doesn't know how to use her powers yet." Missy spent another couple of minutes looking at Danielle before turning back to me.

"My Mama said that you're half human. What can you tell me about the human world?" I held out a hand.

"I can tell you a lot. I live in the human world most of the time and it's also where I grew up. Why don't you come sit down with me and my friend Sam and I'll tell you about it." Missy nodded and she took my hand. I let her over to Sam and I quickly tapped the frozen sword, it disappeared into mist as I commanded it to dissolve. "Now, where do you want me to start?"

I spent the next forty-five minutes telling Missy about the human world. I even started to make animals out of ice so that she could see what they really looked like. Her mother came in at about the forty minute mark and I finished telling missy about what a kitten was like before handing her a frozen replica of a young cat and telling her that she could keep it. The girl squealed and pulled me into a hug. She flew off to the other side of the room to play with the un-melting kitten as I turned to her mother.

"It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Danny." I stuck out a hand and the woman shook it.

"Aleece. Pleased to meet you Danny Phantom. I heard that you will be in charge of the realms soon." I raised my eyebrows.

"News travels quickly here. I only found out myself yesterday. I hope you're not here to curse me and tell you hope I do horribly." Aleece laughed softly. She had sapphire eyes that seemed to be the darkest thing on her person. Her hair was the same hue as her daughter's and she was wearing a dress of pale blue.

"No Danny Phantom, I am pleased that I get to hear some of that wit that Frostbite praises you for so often though. I am her to offer my support. How long may I talk with you?" I glanced over at the tank that held Dani.

"I have some time. I'm not leaving the Far Frozen until she wakes. When she does I'll take her home and start teaching her how to control her new powers." Aleece nodded.

"Then we have some time to talk then, why don't you sit with me?"

I sat on the ground over by Sam and Aleece followed me over. Sam laid her head on my lap. I didn't mind so I just started talking with Aleece. She wanted to know my story and I complied. I started back at fourteen and worked my way forwards to the present. I knew that everyone else in the room was listening because every once and a while Sam and Tuck would throw out details that I was forgetting and Sam told the story of the first time that we met Freakshow herself, I wasn't allowed to interrupt. When we were almost at the Disasteroid when I heard a sound that my ears had been begging to hear. I heard Dani groan.

Sam and I were both up in an instant, each of us had a hand on the side of the glass. "Mom? Daddy? What's going on?" She set both of her hands against ours.

"Your safe Dani, Mom took you to some of our friends so that they could help you. You got a new power and it took over. You passed out. When we get home I'll help you with it okay?" She nodded and examined herself out of habit, making sure that she wasn't hurt.

"Okay." Her voice was shaky. "Can I get out of here? The water's really hot." Sam nodded.

"Okay Ghosty, I'll go get Frostbite. He'll help us get you out." She ran off, leaving her treasured notebooks on the ground as she ran to go get Frostbite. Dani twisted in the tube.

"Hi Tucker and Cara! How's you two sleep last night?" they assured the girl that they got plenty of sleep and Dani looked content. Her eyes settled on Aleece and Missy. "Who are you two?" She asked bluntly? Missy giggled as she launched herself up in the air so she was at the same height as Dani.

"I'm Missy and the lady over there's my Mama. Her name's Aleece. I'm a princess too! How old are you? I'm 5!" Dani giggled a bubbly laugh and started to talk with Missy.

"I'm Danielle, you can call me Dani if you want. I'm not even really a princess yet. My Daddy's not even going to be a king for a couple weeks. I'm going to be 4 in December. What are you doing here?" They continued their conversation as I gathered up the things that Sam and I brought in from the Speeder. Tuck and Cara were gathering their things up too. Soon we had a pile of our things that we could carry easily to the Speeder as soon as Dani was good to go.

Sam came back in the room leading Frostbite. He laughed as he saw how easily Dani and Missy were getting along. "Greetings Princess Danielle. I imagine that you would like to get out of that tank, would you not?"

Suddenly Dani was a bit more shy, she looked to Sam and I for conformation and we both nodded, letting her know that she was good. "Yes please." Frostbite laughed a deep laugh as he started flipping switches and draining the tank. As soon as she wasn't completely suspended in the liquid she started to shiver. "Maybe I was better being hot." I laid my hand back on the side of the tank next to her. Dani placed her hand against mine and smiled softly.

"When you get the hang of this temperature won't bother you. I can wear my suit outside here and not get cold when I stick my arms in the snow. When you're out of the water I'll help you get rid of the cold." Danielle nodded eagerly and as soon as the rest of the water was out she turned intangible and fazed though the glass. All of the water that was on her fell into the bottom of the tank and she launched herself at me. I stumbled backwards as she turned herself solid just before she came into contact with me, squeezing me into a hug.

"I didn't wake you up this morning so I had to jump on you now because I was late." I shook my head with a smile.

"It's probably four in the afternoon Dani. You're very late." A violent shiver wracked her small body and I rubbed her back as she waited for it to pass. My eyes found Frostbite and I mouthed my thanks, he could probably see the sincerity in my eyes as he tipped his head as he bowed. "Thank you Frostbite. I'll meet you again soon Aleece, and Missy, take care of that kitten and I might just try to bring a real kitty with for you to meet next time I see you." Missy giggled and I thought about how Dani might have been if she had gotten to be that age. She probably would have been almost exactly the same as she was now.

"Come on you two, Let's get outside so that we can head home." I set Dani down and she took my hand with her small fingers. I reached out with my left hand and took Sam's hand. She took it and gave it a gently squeeze before we walked outside.

"Danielle, let me show you how to stop those shivers."

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**Ta-Da! Rate and Review, PM me if you have any questions. I'll talk to you again on Wednesday! Bye Phans!**


	14. Fourteen: Phantom Week

**Sam's POV**

Something was different. I was vaguely aware that something wasn't normal but in my half asleep state I couldn't place it. I was still in bed. Danny was still lying beside me with his left arm around my shoulders. I didn't know why whenever he held me he used his left arm, I'd have to ask him that later. I was getting off track, I tried going through my list again. I was here, Danny was here, the alarm clock was silent. I jerked upwards in bed and looked over at the clock. 7:53. Shit.

"Danny! We're late! Neither of out alarms went off." It was a little joke that we started. We had two alarm clocks, one of which was Danielle. If our alarm clock was turned off by mistake we would still always be up on time because Dani's internal clock was always right. Ever since she had started living with the Fenton's last September she had always woken up at 7am. She always woke Danny up by jumping on him or an ecto-blast to the face at 7:45.

Danny still hadn't woken up. His sleeping schedule was annoying. He went from needing almost no sleep at all to sleeping like the dead. I had to shake him awake. After a minute or so he woke up, He sat up with his hands blazing green. "Where's the ghost?" He asked groggily.

I set a hand on his shoulder and he relaxed. "Glowstick. I don't think that Danielle wants to go to school today." Danny looked over at the clock and his eyes went wide.

"Yeah. She's always jumped on me by now. I'll get dressed in the bathroom and you get changed in here. Then we can talk some sense into Dani and I'll use my powers to get us to school before the late bell rings. I nodded and tilted my head back slightly.

"But first you need to say good morning the right way." Even though he was tired, Danny smiled as brightly as the stars. He pressed a long, soft kiss on my lips.

"Morning Sam." He breathed softly. I pressed a soft kiss on his nose.

"Good morning Danny." He sighed heavily and climbed out of bed before grabbing clothes and flying out of the room at super human speed. I got up and changed quickly because Danny had a habit of being a teenage boy. Just as I was pulling on my boots he floated through the door with his hand over his eyes. It would have been a nice gesture if the hand wasn't invisible.

"Am I good?" He asked with one of his signature smiles that made girls all over the world melt. I chuckled softly.

"What do you think?" I questioned. My black pants with plaid trim hugged my legs comfortably and my shirt only went as low as my pleather jacket, just above my stomach. Danny floated back down to the floor. He was in Phantom form. Danny grabbed both of our backpacks and smiled.

"The midnight sky isn't as beautiful as you Shade." He was getting good at the sweet lines. I blushed softly as Danny opened the door for me and I tried to get into Danielle's room. Of course she locked the door. I glanced over at Danny with a grin.

"If you would Your Highness?" His gaze darkened.

"I hate that nickname." He turned his fingers intangible and flipped the tumblers in the lock. The door swung open and we were met with a sight that surprised me.

Danielle had made herself a dome of ice surrounding herself so that we couldn't get to her. She had a box of cereal and several water bottles with her. I had to give it to her that she was prepared. She growled darkly, a cover up for the fear in her eyes. "I am not going to school today. I will not go anywhere where I will be called a freak because I have ghost powers. Lacy and Jake texted me last night saying that they were going to be hanging out with the cool kids from now on and I'm not going to be a sitting duck!"

I tapped the ice looking for weak spots before giving up and holding out my hand for Danny to faze us through the ice. "You forgot about intangibility Dani, baby. Now why don't you come and tell us what's going on?" He asked gently. Danielle launched herself the few feet across her ice dome and pulled us down and started rambling as soon as she was sitting between us. I instinctively slung an arm around her and she snuggled into me, enjoyed the warm that came from me being fully human as she calmed down. I glanced over at Glowstick. _Now what should I do?_ He shrugged his shoulders.

_Your guess is as good as mine Sam._ I sighed and rubbed Danielle's back. "So all of this is because of teasing at school? The A-listers in your grade snared your friends and now you're scared that the other kids are going to gang up on you?" Dani nodded and squeezed me tighter. I smiled. "We can fix that pretty easily Ghosty Girl, You're Daddy's Danny Phantom. Even now when everyone still thinks that he's only your cousin people are still having debates about who would win if Chuck Norris got anywhere near you. Tommy Baxter and his jerk friends don't stand a chance." Dani smiled a bit and looked over at the clock.

"I guess, we're still going to be late though and my human form's still in pajamas." She tapped the side of her dome of ice and it evaporated into thin air. Danny grabbed the clothes that Danielle had set on her dresser that she was going to wear today before grabbing both Dani's and my arms.

"If I can pull this off then there will be no chance of being late." A cold tingle ran through my body, almost like I was being dipped in water from the Arctic Circle. I had just enough time to swear in my head before my molecules ripped apart. Danny was teleporting us.

It didn't hurt, not even the being ripped apart molecule by molecule. It was just cold and dizzying. We rematerialized in the office of Casper High. The few bystanders that were there clapped for Danny. He bowed slightly, the tips of his hair were still misty from pulling themselves together. "Thank you, thank you everybody. Is Mr. Lancer already in his classroom?" He was. I snatched Dani's clothes from Glowstick and handed them to her.

"There's a bathroom in the teacher's lounge that Team Phantom gets to use when they clean up. You can go and change in there so none of the other kids see you in your pajamas." Danielle flashed me a brilliant smile and floated so that she could press a kiss on my cheek.

"Thanks Mom." She breathed softly before letting her voice raise to the normal level. "Really, I appreciate it Sam." She walked out with a confidence that she hadn't had last week, I think that she was starting to realize that even though she wasn't crowned yet, Danielle Fenton was a princess.

Danny turned human and pulled a couple of granola bars out of his pockets. I took one gratefully. "You're amazing Your Highness." Danny turned a bright cherry red and the secretary raised her eyebrows, sending me a questioning look. "Just an inside joke." I explained before Danny could start sputtering out some half-baked explanation. Dani walked out of the bathroom dressed in her normal clothes. "Do you want us to walk you to homeroom?" I asked her with concern. If this teasing with Tommy was really that bad I wanted to smack him across the back of the head. I'm pretty sure that Dani saw that in my eyes.

"It's okay. I'm going to try taking care of it today and if that doesn't work you can scare the A-Listers later." She gave Danny and I each a quick hug and half ran out of the office and into the hall for class. Danny pulled me out of the office, into the hall, and took my face in his hands.

"Let's never do that in the company of people who don't know again. I will probably have a reaction like that every flipping time." I smiled and took Danny's hands off of my face and held one in my hand as we walked to our lockers. Taking away travel time meant that we could take our time.

"Okay, but that doesn't mean that I'll stop calling you Your Highness. The look on your face was fantastic." Danny rolled his eyes as he stuffed his backpack into his locker. I did the same with my ratty, old, spider bag.

"I may get used to it, just in time to get a new nickname. Joy." I bumped him in the shoulder before we walked up to Mr. Lancer.

"Are you ready Mr. Fenton? It's the second Monday in May. You didn't forget, did you?" Danny's shoulders slumped.

"No, I'm ready, I was just hoping that everyone else did. Are we doing that all day?" Lancer nodded and Danny groaned, placing his face in his hands.

"I hate this Monday. In other news can Team Phantom talk with you over the lunch hour? Last week we found out large amounts of crazy. We thought that we should tell you because you're in charge of us and our crazy when we're on the school grounds." Mr. Lancer was quick to agree and we sat down in the back of the classroom, in our usual spots where we sat with Tuck and Cara. I was sitting right behind Danny.

"Are they making us talk about you again this year?" I inquired gently. Danny nodded.

"Yes Shade, they are. In exchange for having flexibility for the team we need to talk about me during Phantom Week. I really hate Phantom Week. That and my birthday is on Monday. That means I get some kind of strange mark this week and we have so much to prepare for before then. I'm exhausted just planning all of this."

"You thinking about Monday Danny?" I flipped around and saw that Tucker and Cara were standing behind me. Tuck adjusted his top hat as he sat down. Cara slid into her seat and started tracing the grain of the wood.

"Tucker, it's too early for conversation. Shut. Up." Have I mentioned that Cara's not a morning person before? She's not at all. It was kind of funny. Lancer called the class to attention and did attendance before giving us his "It's Phantom Week" speech.

"I'm sure all of you know that this week is Phantom Week, the second anniversary of when Danny Fenton/Phantom saved the world from the Disasteroid. Seeing as you children are lucky enough to have legends for classmates, we have convinced Mr. Fenton and his team to tell us their story. If I have it right there are 5 regular members on the team and the Fenton's are honorary members in cases of emergency, am I correct Daniel?" Danny nodded quickly and held my hand firmly as he tapped a bit of his courage.

"That's right Mr. Lancer. I'll talk more about that during the assembly but there are five of us on the team right now." Danny flickered invisible for a just a split second and Mr. Lancer continued on like it was nothing new for his students to disappear. The rest of the class on the other hand, stared at Danny like his teeth had turned purple.

Mr. Lancer finally let us out of the classroom early so that we could go grab Dani and get to the auditorium. Danny was walking at a snail's pace, it was clear that he wasn't looking forward to talking about himself. Danielle on the other hand, was giddy as she sat on her Daddy's shoulders. She smirked back at her homeroom and whispered gleefully. "Screw you Tommy Baxter, the princess of the Ghost Zone gets to go ahead with her family instead of sitting and listening to Ms. Allay's boring speech."

Tucker reached over tugged on one of Dani's feet. "Of course. You are Danielle Fenton. You are the first ghost hybrid princess. You are amazing. And the fact that you have me as a quasi-uncle adds to your awesomeness." Cara smacked Tucker on the back of the head. We were all quiet for a minute before Danny spoke.

"Danielle? Do you want a middle name?" The girl's lips parted and came back together with the only sound she made being a squeak before she nodded enthusiastically.

"You can tell us which names you like later Ghosty. We'll talk about the different names that you like and then we'll make all of this legal." I paused for a moment before turning to the techno geek. "Tuck? Would you mind helping us get a number? The president's cell's a hard number to find." He grinned and reached over for Cara's hand.

"I'll have it soon, I'll get it to you in a few days." We arrived at the auditorium and I pushed open the door to the stage. Fortunately there was chairs on the stage this year. Last year we had to stand for hours. The chairs were filling with the school's students. We lived in a small town but there were still at least seven hundred students. We sat down in the chairs, with Danielle on one side of Danny and me on his other side. Tuck sat by me with Cara at his side.

A teacher that I didn't know tried to hand Danny a microphone but he denied it. He was loud enough without it. He sighed before putting on his press face. He looked calm and like nothing different in his life. "My transformation to being Danny Phantom started the week after my 14th birthday when my parents finished their ghost portal…"

Telling the story of our adventures took all morning. We told about a bunch of our battles but we could never have gotten to all of them. We did leave some parts out on purpose, changing things that were personal. We didn't tell anyone about how Dani wasn't born the normal way, saying instead that she was one of Danny's cousins that Vlad kidnapped. We didn't tell anyone what Tucker did when he was under Desiree's spell. We didn't tell anyone about our dreams from Nocturne. And most importantly we didn't tell anybody details of the conversations that we had before, during, and after the disasteroid.

We took a break for lunch around noon. For once, the five of us were able to eat together at school. "Hey, Uh, Guys?" Danielle asked us clumsily. I answered her quickly.

"Yeah Ghosty? What's on your mind?" Dani twirled her spaghetti on her fork.

"Cendrine." The sudden name startled me. Cara bit her lip in confusion but Danny beat her to talking.

"What about Cendrine?" Dani smiled shyly.

"We were talking about my name this morning. I like Danielle Cendrine Fenton. It means little ashes. I've always thought of myself as a phoenix, rising from the past into the future." Glowstick smiled.

"It's very pretty Dani. We'll work on getting it legal." Somebody tapped us on the shoulders and the Phantoms jumped into fighting positions until they realized that it was just Mr. Lancer.

"You said that you needed to talk to me, that you found out some strange information that I should know about. Let's head to my office. Take your food with you. We only have about fifteen minutes until you answer questions from the other students." Joy. Questions were the part where I would have to be nice to people. Catching my sarcasm?

We walked the familiar route to Lancer's office, I walked this path so often that I wouldn't be surprised there was a permanent print of my foot in these halls that would never come out of the tile.

We all tried to find chairs in the small office but it ended up that Cara and I were standing, the boys were in chairs, Lancer was behind his desk, and Dani was on Glowstick's shoulder's again. She was resting her tray on the top of Danny's head, getting some of her pasta sauce in his hair. "So." Danny started. "Our newest crazy started last Sunday evening when we started looking at some of Vlad's files…"

As soon as we were done talking Lancer stared at us for a few minutes. He hadn't even known that Danielle wasn't Danny's cousin. This was new information, all of it, especially the royalty stuff. Dani broke the silence. "So now we're going to give me a middle name, Daddy's going to be crowned king on Monday, and I made a new ghost friend who's actually about my age and she's never been to the human world. It's been a fun week." Lancer cleared his throat after another moment of staring at us.

"Well I guess this isn't the strangest thing that you've ever told me kids. Let's get back to the auditorium. I'll tell Nurse Jones after school tonight. You need to answer some more questions." I groaned.

"Let's get back to the show. I want to yell at the girls who flirt with Danny." The ghost boy smirked.

"Well, you do yell at every girl who gets within ten feet of me with the exception of Cara and Dani. I think that I might enjoy this afternoon more than I thought that I would." Tuck laughed, punched me in the shoulder, and steered me out of Lancer's office.

"Well then we better get you on stage before you maim somebody Sam."

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**I have returned! I'm ultra giddy right now, the reason is that I write like five chapters in advance before posting any more and I'm getting to my favorite part of the plot. It's ULTRA EPIC! If you peeps are wondering, this is the first in a series. I have many amazing plans. So, ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!**


	15. Fifteen: Coming Home

**Danny's POV**

Sam had her eye on every girl that even looked at me, shooting them looks that could have been deadly. When we sat down on the stage and the rest of the teens were coming back to their seats I leaned over to Shade and started rubbing circles at the edge of her hairline. My lips were close enough to her ear that I had no doubt that she could hear me breath. She glared at all of the other girls, knowing that the Marry me Phantom! Part of the day was coming. My voice was soft, calm, and sincere because I truly meant every word I said to her next. "None of them hold a candle to you Shade. You are my queen, you are my light, and you are the person that I hold at night. None of them are my Sam." I stressed the word my. Sam's gaze softened slightly.

"I didn't think that I belonged to anyone. Are you going to kidnap me Your Highness? I knew that full ghosts were possessive but I didn't think that the handsome Danny Phantom was possessive too." She shot another look at a group of girls who were watching me as one of them pointed at us. I chuckled softly.

"So is Sam. Sam is very possessive. You shouldn't be talking Shade." Her next glare was directed at me. Just when I was about to backtrack she kissed me. It was short, so nobody had time to pull out their camera phones, but it was still full of love. That's what made the kiss wonderful, that and the fact that she had lots of practice kissing me.

"So. You're mine. What's new?" I really didn't care if people saw me kissing Sam, I actually really enjoyed it, so I kissed her. She reacted a little like she did when I first kissed her for real when we were 16. She had a moment of shock before she started kissing me back. Unfortunately, Tucker decided to be an asshat halfway through the kiss. He grabbed the microphone and started to talk.

"Okay. So if Sam and Danny are done making out I think that everyone else is ready. We should be able to start with the questions now." I pulled away from Sam and gave Tucker a death glare of my own, complete with the scary eyes.

"I'm going to kill you later Tucker." I said with a look. He shivered as I looked at everyone else. "So, I guess you can raise your hands and we'll pick questions. We probably won't be able to get to everyone but we will get to a bunch. We do have the right to deny answering any questions." Hands went up in seconds. I pointed to some sophomore that I had seen around the halls. He turned a pale pink with all of the eyes on him but his voice still didn't waver.

"What was the battle that was scariest for you?" I let out a small laugh.

"That is easy. The first time I fought Undergrowth. I had just started getting my ice powers, I had no idea what was happening to me, Tucker and my family were captured," My voice caught just a bit but I swallowed my emotion and kept my press face on. "And Undergrowth had chosen Sam as his Caretaker. That was by far, my scariest battle." Sam started to play with the her fingers, she didn't remember much of that day, she had made me run through what happened countless times. She pulled off a smile anyways.

"Anyone have a question for me? And my boyfriend over here will have a fit if you're asking to kiss me. I would probably maim you anyways if you tried." I couldn't help but laugh. She was a deadly ninja, anyone who tried to kiss her without express permission would be a corpse on the ground. She picked a girl in the back, she was in our class.

"What was the hardest for you when the accident happened? The whole school knew you were crushing on Danny then, what was it like to see him so different and not know what was going on? What about you Tucker?" Both Sam and Tucker gripped the armrests on their chairs. Cara reached out for Tuck and I reached for Sam's hand. She gripped it tightly as she took a deep breath.

"The hardest thing was that I wasn't able to do anything. I couldn't even move Danny. It was bad. He did turn solid by the time Jack and Maddie were down stairs but in those couple of minutes I was terrified that we had killed him, at least we didn't kill him all the way." I twisted our fingers together as Tuck got ready to answer.

"The hardest part for me was the waiting afterwards. Danny went to the hospital and was treated for a severe electrical shock. He was passed out from the pain and he was just so pale. There were burns on his hand and I'm already not a fan of hospitals. It was what really made the fear so bad." Cara stood up and took the microphone.

"You all need to stop asking so many deep questions. We only do interviews during this week. You all know almost nothing about the team. Ask things that aren't going to make everyone want to sit in a hole and cry." Hands went up once again. Cara picked somebody that looked especially bubbly.

"What was your favorite date that Danny took you on Sam?" Sam's face brightened as she remembered a few of the cool dates that we had been on. This was going to be good.

"The picnic that we went on for Danny's 17th birthday, we sat on top of the statue in front of City Hall. He even got my favorite food even though it was his birthday, not mine. It's the little things like that I like the most." Tucker chose the next person to talk. A boy in Dani's grade.

"Hey Danielle, Are you single cutie?" My little girl turned tomato red and looked over to me as for what she should say.

"Single and not on the market. Right Dani?" I declared firmly. She nodded vigorously.

"Very right." She squeaked. I liked the fact that Dani was only three and boys scared her. That was kind of awesome. The boy that had asked her the question looked down sadly. Cara was trying to hold back her laughter at the looks on Dani's, Sam's, and my faces.

"Next question?"

The questions continued on for what felt like an eternity but in reality was probably only a few hours. We were finally let out of our hell and Tucker sighed as we stood outside of the school. "I'll be over around five so you can fill me in. Do cool, weird, stuff without me." Dani walked over and gave Tucker a hug.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure that they're awesome. You do your own awesome and we'll see you later. If you're my quasi-uncle that means I'm just as awesome as you." Tuck squeezed her back lightly. Dani walked back over to Sam and took her hand before she had a light bulb moment. Her eyes brightened and she got a smile on her face. "Hey Tucker? Cara? If you're my almost aunt and uncle should I call you my Aunt and Uncle?"

Tucker shrugged, the strangeness of a three year old ghost hybrid asking him that question didn't faze him. "If it doesn't bug you then it doesn't bug me Ghosty. You just tell me what works for you and I'll be cool with it."

Cara smiled. "I've always been an only child and I've always been pretty close with my aunts and uncles. The idea of being an Auntie kind of appeals to me." I smiled as I flashed to Phantom. I rarely used my battle cry anymore. I had kind of outgrown it.

"Then that's who you'll be, Auntie Cara and Uncle T. We'll be fine Tuck. Go on to work." He hesitated for just another moment before walking to his car. I took hold of both Sam and Cara's arms. I started to float and Dani followed my example. We flew home at about 60 mile per hour. Not bad for having two passengers, just like on Friday we dropped our stuff in the kitchen and ate a quick snack before heading downstairs. Danielle was the first one down the stairs so that she could talk with my mom and dad for a couple of minutes.

"Grandma Mads! Grandpa Jack! We're going to the Ghost Zone soon!" I could hear the laughter in my mother's voice.

Nice Ghosty Girl, How was your day at school?" Danielle huffed as I walked down the stairs with the girls.

"Okay, there were no ghosts. Daddy didn't seem to like it very much. They made him talk all about Danny Phantom. Some boy called me a cutie and he got angry. Why Grandpa?" My dad laughed.

"Daddies just do that when people say things like that to their little girls. Now why don't you go get ready to go to Clockwork's tower? You should probably have something to do just in case Daddy's learning something physical today. Why don't you go upstairs and grab some colored pencils from your room?" Danielle nodded and flew up the stairs. My Mom and Dad looked at me before bursting out laughing.

"Did somebody provoke the beast?" My mom asked, it was clear that she was trying not to laugh. I folded my arms and pressed my lips together.

"He was hitting on my daughter. She's not even four years old yet. I was not pleased. It's not like we scared anyone." Mom rolled her eyes as Dani clomped down the stairs.

"I'm sure that you didn't Danny. You're only a super powered ghost king with no idea how powerful he really is. Go to your meeting and tell us about it at dinner." I saluted as Sam and Cara got into the Speeder.

"Yes ma'am! We'll be back soon."

I flew into Clockwork's tower energized. I had expected him to be alone as usual but he had company. It was a ghost named Larry, He usually went by his ghostly title though, it was the Box Ghost. Joy.

I waved awkwardly. "Uh. Hi?" He flew up to me with his hands on his hips.

"Do you know how long I have been looking for you Danny Phantom? I have had fabulous news for over a week! You need a better secretary. Your little friend told me that you would contact me with your cellular telephone!" I raised my hands in surrender.

"Sorry Larry. My life has been kind of busy lately." He perked up slightly.

"Ah, Yes. Martha and I heard that you will be the King soon! You will be a good ruler Danny Phantom! I did not come all this way to congratulate you though. Martha and I are engaged!" I wanted to laugh. Martha was The Lunch Lady's real name. Their future was happening even though the world wasn't ending. I made myself sound enthusiastic.

"That's amazing Larry! Right Sam?" I elbowed her gently in the side. She caught the hint.

"Uh, Yeah. Good for the two of you! We'll have to get together and talk about that. We have another training section right now but we'll try to talk to you later, okay Larry?" He nodded before disappearing in a flurry of packing peanuts. Sam and I looked at each other before bursting out laughing.

Danielle gazed at us in confusion. "What's so funny? I don't get it." Cara set a hand no her shoulder. "They're just remembering something they found out when they were younger. You'll hear more about it when you're older." Danielle folded her arms in frustration.

"You know Auntie Cara, I really hate that phrase." Cara ruffled up Dani's pale hair and Sam and I found our self-control.

"Sorry, What are we doing today Clockwork?" I asked with a slight bow. The time master smiled.

"I'm taking you to your new home Daniel. I can see many wonderful things happening in the time to come. To get started, open a dimensional rip. Don't tell it where to open like you usually do." I cocked my head like a confused puppy Danielle tapped me on the shoulder.

"It's a portal Daddy. A dimensional rip is a portal." I blushed a muddy green.

"Right. I knew that." I sucked in a deep breath and cracked my knuckles before grasping at reality. Finding a weak place wasn't difficult, the potential for portals was everywhere. I started to pull apart the layers and made my portal. It took me only a minute to make the hole big enough for humans to get through and to stabilize it so that it wouldn't collapse in on us. When I was done I gestured to the swirling hole in reality. "Ta-Da."

Danielle giggled and examined my portal as I turned back to Clockwork. "Now what? There's no set destination." Clockwork gave me one of his "I know everything" looks.

"Step inside Daniel. You will like what you see." I knew better than to doubt him so I stepped through the portal ducking slightly. The others were close behind me.

My jaw dropped to the floor. "All of this is mine?" I asked in awe. We were standing in the middle of a bright green den, several large couches were over against the wall, a big screen TV was mounted on the wall behind us. There was a staircase to a lower level and doors lined one wall. A half wall separated the den from what looked like an awesome headquarters.

One of the walls was completely covered in stainless steel shelves. Huge metal loops hung from the ceiling and a computer station that rivaled Tuckers was in the edge of the headquarters. I spun in a small circle taking it all in. "This place is huge!" I called out, my voice echoed in the large room.

"And you haven't even seen the whole thing Daniel. Why don't you go check out some of the closed doors?" I didn't wait for anymore invitation, the place was mine. The four mostly humans ran over and started opening up doors. Danielle screamed excitedly.

"I have my own room!" Sam and I walked over to peer inside and watch Danielle flip out. The room was clearly hers. The walls were a bright orange and birds that looked like they were on fire actually moved on the walls. A queen sized bed sat in the edge of the room and the books in this room rivaled the amount of books in her room at Fenton Works. That was saying something. A large desk sat beside the bookshelf and a laptop sat on top of it. Dani opened the two doors in the corner. One was a private bathroom in bright red, the other was a yellow walk in closet.

Danielle went from being loud to speechless in seconds. She walked forwards and found that the walls in the closet were stocked full of clothes, some were normal clothes, others were the princess clothes that she wanted so badly. She rubbed her thumb and her index finger against the skirt of a dark green dress. "It's so pretty." She murmured. Sam and I smiled before leaving her to her dreamland.

Cara was sitting in a room of her own. The walls were a pale pink and the queen sized bed had circles of chocolate brown, pale pink, and cream. She too, had a bookshelf and desk. Her desk had a medical kit on it the same as the one she always kept in her car, including the multicolored bag. Cara had already started going through the quality of medical books that were on hand. There were two other door in the room that I assumed led to her own bathroom and closet. She finally glanced up at Sam and me.

"It's my dream bedroom." She sighed. "It's exactly what I've always wanted. Did you do this Danny or how…" She trailed off and looked around again. "It even has my favorite air freshener on in here." Sam smiled.

"Well, you're Cara. You should have what you want." Cara flashed the two of us each a smiled before going back to her books. I realized that she had a docking station for her tablet on her desk as we walked out of her room.

Sam opened the next door and found a large, fully stocked kitchen, with a table that was just big enough for the team to sit at. The next door I opened was Tuck's, a green and silver tech station with just enough room for a bed, closet, and bathroom in the space that wasn't covered by tech. I closed the door softly. The room would wait for Tuck before anyone went in it again. There were two doors left, one of them was a bathroom for people that didn't have a private one to use, the other was Sam's and my room, the very first one in the row with Dani's room right beside it.

I grasped the handle. "You ready Shade?" Sam nodded with excitement.

"Let's see what's behind door number one Glowstick." I turned the handle and pushed the door open. I stepped inside and like Sam, I was silent.

Just like the other rooms there were two doors inside the room to be opened. Two desks sat beside each other on one wall. A silver king sized bed sat in place of the queen sized ones in the other rooms. Our laptops, the ones that we left in our room at Fenton Works, were sitting on our desks. The walls were midnight blue but the ceiling was covered in constellations. I don't mean tacky stickers either, I mean a replica of the night sky that actually moved. We could stargaze as we laid in bed. A shelf full of Sam's books were over by her desk.

I walked over and opened the door to the closet. It was larger than Dani's, having both a side for mine and Sam's things. We had normal and fancy clothes just like Danny did. The bathroom was set in the same deep blue and silver as our room. Without thinking, Sam and I flopped down on the bed, she automatically wrapped her arms around me and I set my chin on the top of her head. She only said one thing. "It's beautiful."

We walked back out to where Clockwork was waiting for us. Dani and Cara were already sitting on the couch talking. "How did the rooms get so close to what we wanted?" I asked in awe. Clockwork looked around with his withered fingers gripping his time staff.

"You did Daniel. You did this with your mind." I had a moment where my brain stopped.

"How- How did I do this?" I sputtered. Clockwork's form changed to that of a young child.

"Ghosts are telepathically linked with their lairs. The lairs then change to meet the wants and needs of the ghost. You are located an equal distance between my tower, your parents portal, and the Far Frozen. You wanted a place where you and your friends could be comfortable and be able to function. Your downstairs you don't have as much control over. Downstairs is where the castle is. It's mostly a banquet hall and meeting rooms. You do have some helpers though."

Clockwork waved his hand in the air and five ghost girls of all ages flew over and curtsied for him before they saw me. The rushed over to me and started chattering like teenage girls. "Oh Master Daniel! It's an honor to meet you your highness! We hope to serve you well your highness!" They all exclaimed in unison. Now that they were visible I could see that they looked like they were servants. I awkwardly waved.

"Hi?" My cell phone saved me. It was 5:15. I turned to Clockwork. "Is there a way to anchor this place to the human world so that the others can get in without me opening a portal every time?" Clockwork nodded.

"Just use your mind to rubber band the portal to where ever you are anchoring it. I shall see you on your birthday Daniel. Enjoy home. Clockwork blinked out of sight and the servants scattered off to do some more work, they did say that they would cook which was nice.

I created a portal back to Fenton Works. We landed in my bedroom where I connected my lair to one of my blank walls. The connection looked only like a black door. We all clomped down the stairs to where my parents, Jazz, and Tuck were waiting. "Hey Guys! Guess what we just did?"

* * *

**Sooo. I have no words. Crap. Well, rate and review peeps! See you all this weekend! **


	16. Sixteen: Parents and Names

**Heh. I only now realized that the character I was using for line breaks isn't allowed on . I'll fix it on new chapters. I'M GIVING YOU SEVERAL CHAPETERS TODAY. BE JOYFUL! (And don't kill me when you're done with these, I'm writing like the wind.) The next chapters will be up on Wednesday. Later peeps! Rate and Review!**

* * *

**Sam's POV**

I never wanted to get up. We had talked with Jack and Maddie last night, they had agreed that it would be alright for us to live in Danny's lair now. Tuck had talked with his folks and he would be moving in when I let the day start. Today was Cara's 18th birthday, I had a feeling that she would be moving in with us soon.

I stared up at the stars as I snuggled under the covers, deep in thought. We would still go and hang over at Fenton Works all of the time. Danny was one of the lucky kids that was close with his parents. He snaked an arm over around me and blew a puff of breath out as he sighed in his sleep. I smiled as his dark eyebrows crinkled and relaxed. I kissed his forehead and climbed out of bed, I may as well let the day start now. Walking over to the closet, I shook my head to make my hair fall flat again. I had let Danny convince me to wear it down last night. He enjoyed tangling his fingers in it.

I opened the closet door as quietly as I could before stepping in and getting dressed. I took a pair of combat boots off of one of the shelves and grabbed a pair of socks in my other hand. I pressed the door closed with my bare foot as I walked over to my new desk chair. So far, this was the only room in the lair that I liked the smell of. This room smelled like Danny, all of the others smelt like the ectoplasm that I was all too used to washing off of Danny when he got hurt. We needed some air fresheners or something.

Danny woke up as I finished lacing up my last boot. He rolled over on his side so that he could see me better. Dark hair fell in front of his face as he smiled at me. He sat up and threw the covers back as he climbed out of bed, clad only in a pair of gym shorts. "You know, I like waking up to the face of beauty. Morning Shade, are you going to let me kiss you yet or am I going to be in agony a while longer?"

I walked over and looped my arms around his neck. "Well, if you're in pain I guess I could help you out." Danny kissed me before looking down at himself. He blushed a muddy green color.

"I better get dressed now, shouldn't I Sam?" I nodded and pressed my lips to his.

"Yeah, you should. I'll go make sure Danielle's up. We're awake kind of early today." Danny gave me one more quick kiss and walked off to the closet. I smiled and opened the door out to the main area of the lair. It was empty but that didn't surprise me. I figured that Dani would be either in her room or in the dining room. Her room was vacant, the door slightly opened. I made my way over to the dining room where Dani was having a conversation with the smallest of the ghost girls that Clockwork had called our helpers. I hadn't gotten the chance to learn her name yet.

* * *

I decided that I would wait outside for just a moment, I was curious about what they were talking about and I had no doubts that when I came in they would stop their conversation. "-So that's what I heard Clockwork say, I don't even know if I should tell my Mom and Daddy my ideas. I am only three so they probably have better ones, right Marcie?"

The girl that I assumed was Marcie sighed and clicked her tongue in a way that was similar to the way that Cara did. "Well Princess, I don't know. You are right, you're young but that doesn't have anything to do with your ideas. I'm twelve years old compared to your three and your little drawings for your parents in that book are better than anything that I ever did in my life or my five years of afterlife. You should show them."

Dani spoke with a smile in her voice, clearly enjoying being called a princess. "Thanks Marcie, I'm just not sure if they're good enough for what they need." I was tapped on the shoulder and I turned and saw Danny standing behind me dressed in a tee shirt and blue jeans.

"Whatcha doing Shade?" He asked me with a smirk as he opened the door. I let my face fall comically. "Busted Sam." Danny chirped. Dani looked over at us in shock.

"How much did you hear?" She asked curiously.

"I didn't hear anything. Ms. Nosey over here was interested enough to forget to kiss me." I glared over at him.

"Shut up Danny. Ghosty Girl? What were you debating showing us? I'd like to see it if you want to show me." Her face lit up.

"Really? I thought I would be bothering you! Come here, I'll show you." I walked over as Danny grabbed some cereal out of the cupboards. Somehow he was able to find everything with ease, it must be that link that Clockwork was talking about. I slid into a chair next to Dani and saw that she had a little red sketchbook similar to my black one in front of her.

* * *

"What do you have here Dani?" She handed me the book somewhat nervously. I started to flip through the pages at random and smile. A few of the pages were simply doodles with Danielle Cendrine Fenton sprawled through the middle of the page, others were drawings of her, Danny, Cara, Tuck, and I. She was really good, there was a page that had her creeping up to wake Danny and another of Cara and Tucker tapping away together on Cara's tablet, their foreheads touching, and one of me holding a Fenton thermos looking like a mess. "Wow. Danielle, these are amazing!"

Dani snagged the book from me and flipped to one of the first pages. "These are what I really wanted to show you, I drew these a few months ago and I only remembered them when Clockwork said that Daddy was going to be king. I didn't really think that it was a coincidence."

On the page were three crowns. One of them was large and masculine, the shaping was traditional and made me think of pure royalty, it was simple in its brilliance. The metal swooped into peaks just like kings crowns did in fairytales. Topped on the top of the peaks were alternating spheres of peridot and obsidian. In what appeared to be the front was an obsidian cut out of Danny's famous logo. The metal was extraordinary. It looked like a mix of something green and silver. Another was a circlet that was just a simple silver band connected to a rose made of ice that would sit just over the ear. The last crown was also a circlet, this one slightly more complicated. The metal was as silver as the previous circlet. It was studded with obsidian and peridot stones cut in octagons about a half inch apart. In the front where one of the obsidian stones would be was another one of Danny's logos.

"Danielle, did you draw these?" She nodded and started explaining little things to me.

"Yeah, I was day dreaming one day and I thought that if I was a princess someday that I would like the little crown with the rose. After I designed my crown it was lonely looking so I had to draw crowns for a ghost king and queen too. It kind of worked out. The green stuff in the big crown is ectoplasm. I had a feeling that if you fused the two substances together the crown would glow. I already finished my breakfast. I just thought I would doodle until you guys came out here unless I had to wake you. Another ten minutes and I would have." I kissed her on the head as Danny came over with cereal, milk already poured. He was trying to get me to loosen up with how strict I was on being a vegetarian. I would still never eat meat but I was starting to drink milk. And I liked ice-cream. A lot.

* * *

"Care to pass them over here girls?" I traded him my breakfast for the book and his eyes widened. "These are so cool Dani! I wonder if we could get them made before Monday? It's six days, I don't really know." Marcie tapped me on the shoulder and I flinched form the cold touch.

"I apologize My Lady. I was just going to offer to take that to the drawings to the kingdom of Aragon for you. I am sure that her Ladyship Dora would be able to help you get your things done." I hesitated.

"I'm sure that you're really busy. It wouldn't be a big thing for me to swing over there afterschool." Danielle tapped me on the shoulder.

"We're doing stuff with Tuck and Cara after school." She reminded. I sighed.

"I guess than if it wouldn't be a big deal than I would love it if you would take this to Dora for us. Danny? Are you going to write a note to go with it?" He was already reaching for a pen and paper. He scratched out a message and grabbed a paperclip to keep the two sheets together. "How are you doing all of that?" I asked. He was eating, writing, finding stuff, and having a conversation at the same time.

"I really have no clue. There, the note's done. You sure that you want to do this Marcie?" The ghost girl nodded.

"Of course I do your Majesty. Thank you Princess, for talking with me. I haven't talked about myself since I died five years ago." Dani nodded. She spoke with a soft voice and a smile.

"Thank you Marcie, It's kind of nice to make friends. Do you want me to say hi to your brothers for you?" The spirit squealed.

"Please do Princess, I haven't seen them since I was seven. Please tell them I'm happy." She didn't even wait for Danielle to respond before disappearing.

* * *

Dani smiled as Glowstick and I took our last couple of bites of breakfast. Danny gripped our shoulders before teleporting us to in front of Tucker's place. The young techno geek was already running down the street. "Tuck? What's going on?" He turned as he heard my voice, he was relieved to see us.

"Guys! I just got a text from Cara! She said that she's having an emergency." Danny didn't wait for anything else. He reached out and grasped onto Tuck's shoulder. Dani was holding onto my arm tightly so she wouldn't be left behind. We landed on Cara's front porch and I wasted no time knocking on the door. I was surprised to see Mr. Green when he opened the door.

"I took the day off for Cara-Bear's birthday. She's in her room, she doesn't want to talk to us right now. Her mother's trying to see if she can talk to her. Cara left her phone downstairs and I figured that her friends could help." It made sense, her dad had called us.

Tuck didn't wait to run up the stairs, followed by Danielle and I. Danny said a quick thank you to Mr. Green before following us. Mrs. Green was sitting against Cara's door. We asked her a silent question and she nodded. "Go and see if you can get her to talk, She's cooped herself in her room ever since we told her over breakfast." We didn't ask what they told Cara. We would find our soon enough ourselves.

Tuck gently rapped his knuckled on the door. "Caroline? Babe, it's Tuck. Open the door. I can get Danny or Ghosty to force it open but I don't want to." He looked around at all the three people standing around him waiting for Cara to open the door. "We're all here Cara, we just want to help you. Please Babe, just unlock the door." There was a slight click and the door swung open.

* * *

Cara had already moved to the other side of the room by the time that we were all in. She was sitting with her arms around her knees underneath her window. The bright pink of the walls contrasted greatly with the mood Cara was in. I shut the door behind us. Tuck and Dani, the little ray of sunshine, sat down next to Cara. The young woman set her head on Tucker's chest. "I feel like I've been living a lie." Danielle took Cara's hand as Dani and I sat down. Cara pointed to an open envelope sitting on her neatly made bed. I picked it up and handed her. She passed the envelope to Tucker who started to read aloud.

"State of Illinois birth certificate, baby girl Jansen, daughter of P. Jansen. State of Illinois adoption certificate that states that baby girl Jansen is the daughter of Fredrick and Melinda Green. They renamed her Caroline Mikayla Green." Cara had tears swimming in her eyes.

"They never told me. I always thought that I didn't fit with my cousins. It makes sense now." Tuck pressed a kiss to Cara's forehead.

"Are you going to be alright Cara? They still are your family. In this group we know pretty well that having parents is a blessing even if they aren't your birth parents." She nodded.

"I will be. I was planning on moving in with you guys soon just like we had all been planning on staying together but I think sooner would be better than later. Is that okay?" Danny and I nodded simultaneously.

"Our home is your home Cara." She managed a light laugh.

"So you two are sharing that now too, are you going to be sharing a last name any time soon?" A slight pink tinge colored my cheeks as the muddy slur of Danny's blood colored his cheeks too. He spoke smoothly.

"Maybe someday. But right now we have school. It's a good thing that we were early today or we would be screwed." She nodded.

"Wait just a minute before teleporting us out. I want to hug my parents before we go."

* * *

Just a few hours later we were sitting at lunch, we had convinced Cara and Tuck to eat with them. It was something that we were all staring to enjoy, especially because that meant that we could hang out. Dani sighed and got up from the table. "Give me a moment guys, I promised Marcie that I would do something for her." She shrugged her shoulders with a sad smile. "Fenton's have to keep their promises."

She walked over from the table and into the lion's den, also known as the A-list's table. I couldn't hear what she was saying. She set her hand on Tommy Baxter's shoulder before he walked away from the table with her. She set her arms behind her back and spoke gently. The boy with blonde hair and green eyes turned a brilliant shade of fuchsia before slapping Dani in the face. He towered over her before she walked away as quickly as she could without looking like an idiot. She sat back down beside me and rubbed her cheek. "Dani?" I asked her softly, I needed to know why he had done that to her.

"Remember how I promised Marcie that I'd talk to her brother, meet Marcie's big brother." I rubbed her back as she sank back from the eyes of the other students who were all staring at her because she had been slapped by Tommy. "He's a jerk. I hate keeping promises." Danny kissed her forehead and flipped Tommy off. Dani giggled like a madwoman.

"There you go Ghosty, All better." I slapped him on the back of the head.

"Danny! Flipping people off gets you nowhere." Tucker leaned over to Danny and stage whispered.

"It's just as funny as hell." Cara punched Tucker in the shoulder.

"No swearing in front of the niece!" she hissed in a real whisper, making sure nobody else heard.

When she said the word niece something clicked. "Tucker. Hack into the hospital records of births 18 years ago and hand me the flipping PDA."

The man stared at me like I was off of my rocker until I glared at him. He started hacking then. Danny set a hand on my shoulder, I was as stiff as a board, making sure I didn't get my hopes up too high. For all I knew it could have been a cruel coincidence.

* * *

"Sammy, are you okay?" A smile tugged at the edges of my mouth as he called me the nickname that I used to loath. Danny didn't use it often, but when he did I liked the word more and more. I let out a shaky breath.

"Give me a couple of minutes. Tuck, are you almost done with that?" He gave me a stiff nod, submerged in his work. He would be a wonderful hacker for the FBI someday. Maybe he could get a referral from Cara's dad. I exchanged a look with Cara, she understood what I was saying instantly.

"Oh. Oh my gosh. You think that you know my birth mother." Danny took his head in his hands.

"How is it that I need super powers to communicate without talking and you two can just look at each other and know whatever the other is thinking?" I shrugged.

"Must be a girl thing, Do you have anything Tucker?" I asked again. He looked up at me for a split second at the desperation in my voice. I needed to know this. If I continued to think about it for any longer than I had been my mind would burst.

Tucker passed me his PDA and I scrolled down to May 9th 18 years ago. Three babies had been born that day. Two males and a female. I took a breath before clicking on Cara's name. The loading of the page felt like forever but when it finally loaded and I saw the name in the position for mother, I squealed with excitement. Pamela Jansen.

"Who? Who is it? Will she like me? Do I have any siblings? Damn it Sam, tell me!" My eyes flickered to Danielle.

"No swearing in front of your niece Sister Dear." I breathed with a smile. The young doctor's mouth fell open.

"No flipping way." I passed her the PDA.

"I only realized when you called Dani your niece that Jansen was my mother's maiden name. Fate likes to mess with our brains."

* * *

We had only a few more minutes to process what had just been revealed until lunch ended. It went on the list of things to talk about after school. Danny and I talked about it mentally all of time we could. As soon as the bell rang the four seniors ran to Dani's locker to walk home together. The conversation started there. Cara voiced the phrase that was running through everyone's minds.

"Well. Holy hell." Danny still poked her for swearing in front of her niece. Cara glared at him and stuck out her tongue like a child. "I am 18 years old and I can swear if I want to." Tucker and I moved them to separate parts of the sidewalk.

"So." Danielle said slowly before the questions started to pour from her mouth. "If Auntie Cara's Mom's sister does that mean that they have the same blood type? Is Auntie Cara a Manson and not a Green? Why was Pamela's maiden name on the birth certificate instead of her married one? How old was Mom when Auntie Cara was born? Are Mom and Auntie Cara twins? Could you they have another sibling? Do I have any other Aunts and Uncles?"

Danny finally got tired of his daughter's talking and picked her up, she was so stunned that he was carrying her down the sidewalk in broad daylight that she stopped talking. "From the Beginning of your questions Ghosty, It doesn't mean that they have the same blood type. Cara is still Caroline Green, not Manson. I don't know why Pamela's maiden name was on the birth certificate and not her married one, it could be so that there wasn't a big fuss over the richest people in Amity putting their daughter up for adoption. If my math is right then Mom is 11 months older than Cara. Your mom and aunt are Irish twins, that means they were born with in a year of each other. No and No." He said all of this without taking a breath, glancing back to me for conformation when he was done.

I shrugged my shoulders. "It sounds right." I couldn't give absolutes because I didn't know. Cara did the same shrug before taking Tucker's hand. Tuck's eyes lit up and he shoved his free hand into his pocket, pulling a strip of white paper out of it. He passed the scrap to Danny, who when he saw the writing on the paper, flashed to Phantom. He looked down at his body.

"That hasn't happened in forever. Oops." he finally grabbed my Tucker's and Cara's hands as he started to hover. Danielle got the hint and flashed to Phantom before grabbing me by both of my hands and following her Daddy to Fenton Works.

* * *

Dani and I met the others in the lair. Cara and Tuck were sitting on one of the couches together, looking at her tablet. Danny was pacing across the side of the main room that was his headquarters. His cellphone was to his ear and he looked like he was on hold. He gave us each a wave with and a brilliant smile. Dani turned human and walked away to find Marcie. Just as she left the room Danny was taken off hold.

"Hi. My name's Danny Fenton/Phantom… Yep, that's me… I have the number because my best friend is a genius… I need to talk to the president… Yes I know he's busy, this is important… I'm an international superhero, I think a phone call is reasonable… Yes, I'll hold while you get him." Danny covered the microphone on his cell before he spoke to me. "Is this milking the whole superhero thing?"

I shrugged. "I don't think so. If it is, you have permeation to milk it for this. Dani's worth it." Danny's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, she is." A small gasp escaped his lips as he straightened himself up. "Hello President Kaufman… It's an honor to talk to you too sir… I have a favor to ask you sir… I wouldn't ask if it wasn't something that I couldn't get by myself… Thank you, Do you remember Vlad Masters Sir?" He started to explain the situation. He was still talking when Dani came in with Marcie fifteen minutes later. The young ghost looked like she had been crying.

I walked over to the girls and Dani smiled brightly. Marcie looked like she expected to be hit. I cupped a hand around the child's cheek. "Everyone's okay so no harm done. I don't blame you for wanting to get a message to your brothers. Why don't you two go to Dani's room and draw some more?" Marcie and Dani lit up, I don't think that either of them had ever really had playmates. They both gave me hugs.

"I brought the paper to Princess Dora. She said the crowns would be ready by Thursday. The princess also said that you should get the King's suit done soon. She told me that he should wear both his crown and new suit to his interview so that it looks like it's just another suit change." Marcie whispered before flying off with Dani right behind her.

* * *

I turned back to Danny, he had just finished telling President Kaufman about what he needed. I noticed that he had left out the part of him being king. "…And that is why I need a favor… You will? Thank you Sir… Her name is Danielle Cendrine Fenton/Phantom… D-a-n-i-e-l-l-e, C-e-n-d-r-i-n-e, F-e-n-t-o-n / P-h-a-n-t-o-m… If you could get it to me in the next few days that would be ideal… You have a nice day too Sir." Danny closed his phone and propelled himself up in the air with a yell of triumph.

"Did it really go that well?" Tucker asked as he and Cara looked up from her tablet. They had been playing Tetris together.

"We will have the papers in our mailbox by Friday, all we'll need to do is sign them in front of Amity Park's mayor and it'll be a done deal." Dani literally stuck her head through her door.

"What's going on?" I held out my hand and she ran to me without question.

"What's going on, is that your Daddy just convinced the president to draw up papers for Danielle Cendrine Fenton/Phantom, the legal daughter of Samantha Manson and Daniel Fenton/Phantom." My daughter's eyes went wide and a grin spread wide on her face.

"Awesome."


	17. Seventeen: Threads, Bling, & Ink

**Danny's POV**

I glanced over at Sam, bored. "Why in the name of the Infinite Realms is this so important that we have to drive there? Driving is boring." I whined. Sam glanced at me with her eyebrows raised.

"Glowstick, you do know that we've been in the car for a total of twenty minutes? Or that you're starting to swear like a ghost because of all the time we're spending in the Ghost Zone?" I huffed.

"First things first, you're dating a ghost hybrid. I'm going to use oaths from both species. That's the way it works. Two, my sense of time is slightly screwed up from being in the Ghost Zone so much this week. Why isn't it messing with you and why must we drive?" A smile tugged at Sam's lips as she saw my crestfallen expression.

"Because I'm fully human and I wanted to drive you to the tattoo parlor. I'm so glad that Dani and I convinced you to get a tattoo instead of a necklace or something of the kind. They're awesome, I speak from experience." I opened my mouth like a fish as I realized what she had just said.

"Sam? Where's your tattoo?" The car slowed to a stop at a red light before Shade turned to me.

"On my upper back, Glowstick, it's usually covered up by my hair when I'm in a swimsuit and a shirt the rest of the time." I tried to picture something that Sam would tattoo on her back, I couldn't think of anything. Finally I gave up.

"What's it of Sammy?" She smiled.

"It's a black rose veiled in frost Danny. I'll show it to you some time, right now we're getting yours done."

We pulled into the parking lot of an edgy looking building. It had a black sign and red neon lights. Sam smiled at me. Here goes nothing.

* * *

The line was long in the tattoo parlor. I wasn't happy about it but I didn't complain. Danielle was hanging out with Tuck, Cara, and Dora in Aragon. That meant that it was very possible that they were training without me. I liked to spar with my friends so I wasn't too keen on letting them have all of the fun while somebody injected me with ink. Finally we got to the front.

"The name's Jerry. You need a new tattoo Phantom?" Asked a large man with a southern accent and arms that were so tatted up they looked like they were a catalog of his work.

"Yeah, I do. Could you fit me in? I know that it's kind of last minute but I didn't even know until yesterday." Jerry gave me a grin.

"Sure we can fit you in. What'd you need?" Sam passed him a sheet of paper, the design that she and Danielle worked together on. It was a DNA double helix. One of the strands was black, the other ecto green. The shafts connecting the two strands were the same robin's egg blue as my eyes and every place the strands connected there was a small silver replica of my logo. It was going to circle my right bicep and connect so it looked like a never ending strand.

Jerry looked at the sheet, arms crossed. "This is nice, who designed this?" I pointed a thumb at Sam.

"Sam and my cousin Danielle worked on it together. They both have lots talent." My girlfriend punched me in the shoulder.

"Don't listen to him, he's biased. Will you be able to do it?" Jerry chuckled and gestured for us to follow him.

"Will I be able to do it? Miss Sam, I have a feeling that this tattoo is going to be my new favorite creation."

Getting the tattoo didn't hurt by my standards but I got bored fast. Soon Sam was entertaining me with the expressions she was making as she watched Jerry work on my arm. Every time he got to a spot that was a bit more difficult Sam would wiggle her eyebrows as she watched see how he handled it. It was difficult to keep myself from laughing more than once. Finally she looked up and raised her eyebrows at me as a small chuckle escaped my lips.

"What's so funny Glowstick? Do I amuse your silly little halfa mind?" I chuckled softly as Jerry smiled at us.

"Yeah, I find you amusing Sam. Deal with it." Sam set her elbows on her knees and her head propped in her hands.

"So, How far are you?" Jerry chuckled at her expression of excitment.

"Three fourths of the way done with the black Miss Sam. Just about another ten minutes before I can start on the colors."

Her eyes flickered from my arm to my face as a grin grew on her face. "Wicked."

* * *

Three hours later we were done. Normally, it would have taken weeks to get a tattoo finished but with my healing powers I was able to speed the process up a bit. I even signed a page that said that it really was Jerry who did my tattoo. If he would have known that he was tattooing my crown on me, he couldn't have been happier. I flashed to Phantom and opened a rip in reality, we were closer to Dora's castle from the lair than we were from the Fenton Portal. Sam stepped through the door and I closed the rip behind us. I was getting good at that. Sam was leaning against the half wall. She curtsied dramatically. "Your Highness." She greeted with a giggle.

I bowed to her just as dramatically. "My queen." She blushed cherry red and held her hand out to mine as we walked downstairs and out of the castle, passing the formal dining hall, throne room, and tree meeting rooms. We had originally thought that the island my lair was on was small. We were very wrong. The purple terrain of the ghost zone stretched out for miles and miles around us, I had asked Clockwork if it was his doing as soon as I saw the surrounding area. He only told me that it would be a lovely place for a capital city. I took his silence on the matter of who made it a confession.

I picked Sam up bridal style and flew to Aragon. I did several loops and tricks as we flew, simply talking with Sam the whole way. I landed outside of the kingdom gates out of courtesy. I knew that I was more than welcome here but it was still polite to give some warning. Sam waved and the doors to the kingdom opened. We walked to the castle without thinking, going completely from memory. We stepped into the courtyard of Dora's castle and found her and Danielle sparing, claw verses ice sword. Sam and I sat down next to Cara and Tuck. "How's Ghosty Girl been holding up?" I asked with my eyes trained on the fight. Tuck smiled.

* * *

"She's doing well Danny, don't panic. Other than a small scrape on her face neither of them have landed any blows. She sure is going to sleep well tonight though." I watched the graceful dance of the fight carefully. Dani and I both used our size and weight to our advantage. We were able to move quickly, darting out of the way of most attacks. She flipped out of the way of Dora's paw. She soared up in the air behind Dora's head, into the sweet spot that she couldn't reach. Dora flew upwards as fast as a butterfly, her wings flickering as she sent herself into the prime position for offense.

Danielle had a revelation. She used a tower behind her to push off of for extra oomph as she flew through Dora's torso and head. Danielle latched on to one of Dora's horns with her weaker arm, she glowed with a bright light as she used a power unique to halfas, power cancellation. Dora was stuck tangible and visible as Danielle tapped her sword to the top of Dora's head, between her horns. Dora let out a might roar before shrinking. Within a minute Dani was standing over Dora with her sword to the elder woman's chest.

Dani tapped over where Dora's core was before holding out her hand to help her up. Dora smiled and nodded at Danielle. "You have done your family well my Princess. The only other to defeat me in sparring is your father." Dora walked over to me and knelt down on one knee, her head bowed. I turned a bright red but managed not to stutter in disbelieve as Dora was the fifth ghost to have done this to me this week. "My Liege,"

Unlike other kings and rulers before me, I helped her up. "Princess Dora, I've told you three times in the last twelve hours that you don't need to do that." The woman smiled.

"I know that well King Daniel, I do it because it was how I was taught to honor my superiors. I will not kneel if you stop calling me princess, we have a new princess now, we have Danielle. I would be more content as a lady than a princess. I am not from the House of Phantom." I glanced at the ground.

"I never intended to take you being a princess away from you Dora. You've held that position for 1600 years. It's yours." Dora shook her head.

"You are king, not my father. You. Your children will be the new princess and princesses of the Infinite Realms." I took a deep breath.

"Another compromise then, How about I stop calling you princess if you join my board of governors. Your family's been ruling much longer than mine, I have a lot to learn." Dora nodded and shook on it.

"Very well King Daniel, Now you and your companions must follow me. Your three crowns are ready."

* * *

We walked into a room that looked like it was used just for clothing and crowns. An old soul sat in the corner weaving a dark crimson cloth. Dora nodded to her before she flew off, the elderly woman's unfinished work fell into a neatly folded square. I only gaped at it a little. Dora opened a wooden box that sat on a table. She took out three metal crowns, a silver circlet with a perfect ice rose on the side, a circlet studded with black and green stones, and a silvery green crown that glowed with gemstones of the same black and green at the top of each peak.

Dora gazed at Sam, Danielle and I expectantly. "Well, let us see how they look." The girls looked at me and I raised my hands.

"You two go first. I will put my crown on last." Danielle was eager to try her crown on. She set the cool, silver circle on her head, the edge of it rested on her brow. Dani slid the rose over beside her right ear.

"Who made the rose?" She asked softly as she fingered the practically indestructible ice. Dora smiled at Danielle's awe.

"Sir Frostbite of the Far Frozen said that it was his honor to make the rose for the princess's crown."

Sam set her crown on her head brushed her hair behind her ears. "How does it look?" She asked, uncharacteristically shy. I smiled and brushed a soft kiss across her cheek.

"Beautiful, but that it doesn't have anything to do with the crown. Admittedly the crown is nice too but I like the face more." Sam shoved me in the shoulder as she took off the circle of silver.

"Shut up Glowstick, I won't even be wearing it for a while. Put your crown on now." I smiled and set my crown on the top of my head. I was suddenly energized, like I had been injected with caffeine. It was dizzying and I gripped onto Sam and Tuck for support.

"Dude? You okay?" Tuck asked me nervously. I nodded and swallowed dryly as I turned to Dora.

"What the hell was that?" I asked Dora. She smiled mischievously.

"Your crown. My smiths made it with double the ectoplasm of the Crown of Fire. They figured if you had the same concentration ectoplasm on you as the crown it would have the same effects. I take it that they were right." I nodded and took a deep breath. The dizziness was almost gone, just a rush from going from normal to Super Danny in less than a second. Now that I wasn't dizzy I felt wonderful, just as powerful as I had when I was wearing the ecto-skeleton.

"It's perfect. Do I look like a dork Cara or am I fine?" The doctor shrugged her shoulders.

"You're no dorkier than normal Danny, chill. We should probably head back home so that we can eat and wind down before sleeping." Tucker snorted.

"I move out of my folk's place to have you baby me. Babe, you're 18. You need to break the rules every once and a while." Cara rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and looked at me. She was giving me a stare very similar to the one Sam gave me when she was irritated. Angry and dangerous.

"I think that we should head out Dora, thanks for all of your help." She bowed slightly.

"It was my pleasure King Daniel. I hope to see you again soon." Dani gave Dora a quick hug, her crown going crooked on her head, before flying out of the castle. We didn't have much of a choice but to follow her.

* * *

A good hour later, we were back home, dinner was finished, Danielle was in the shower, and Tucker and Cara were on the computer playing a game on their computers together. I think it had something to do with zombies and flowers. Sam and I were sitting on the couch together, chilling. "You know, I have an idea." I whispered. Sam leaned backwards from her spot on my lap.

"What's up?" My mind was racing, the sudden idea making my brain spin.

"Are the suit designs done?" Sam tried to deny, to say that there was only one but I set a finger over her lips.

"I know you made Danielle a new suit too, it's sweet. I think that I just figured out how to make it ready by tomorrow instead of Monday." Sam didn't need any more invitation. She gave me a quick kiss on the lip before running off to our room and grabbing her sketch book. She was back in less than a minute, handing it to me.

"Work your magic Danny." I flipped to the page that had the design for my suit on it, a trial before I tried to help Danielle. After I flashed to Phantom I pointed at the fully colored drawing.

"Okay lair, I would like to wear that!" In contrast to Sam's calm heat that I had been sitting with for the last twenty minutes, I was almost as cold as I was when I used my ice powers. I was no longer wearing my old uniform, I was wearing a tight, sleeveless shirt with a high collar. Two stripes of white wrapped diagonally around my torso, my logo was over the top of the stripes in ecto-green. A white belt was around my waist to hold a Fenton Thermos. A band of white with a small strip of green was around the thigh of my left leg. A combo of white and green in the same formation was on the lower section of my right leg.

There was an armband of silver and peridot clamped on my left arm. Fingerless white gloves with ecto green trim went up to my elbows. A deep green hooded cloak that was the same color as peridot was clasped around my shoulders with my logo on the clasp. White combat boots were laced tightly on my feet. My crown stayed through the transformation. I spun around in a small circle so that Sam could see her handy work. "I did well!" She declared. I glanced down at my body, an idea striking me.

"Lair, make it self-repairing. And I want a duplicate of it in my closet." The cold washed over me again and I grinned before giggling maniacally. "This is awesome. This is so awesome."

* * *

Dani walked out into the main room a minute later. Her hair was sprayed around her shoulders in a damp, dark cloud. Dani's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates when she saw what I was wearing. "Daddy? What's with the new get up?" I smiled.

"Your Mom designed it. Come here, I'll help you with yours. Go ghost Dani." The girl changed forms so that she was a princess in black instead of a school girl in pajamas. Her hair was braided as soon as she swapped to her alter-ego. I flipped to the drawing of Dani's new suit. "Danielle wants to wear that with several duplicates in her closet. Also self-repairing."

Danielle gasped as a cold washed over both of us. Her cut off top and jumpsuit pants turned into a tight black jumpsuit with pants legs that flared out just like her old suit. Orange flames wrapped around the bottom of her pants. A blue belt held room for a thermos and she too had gloves up to her elbows, hers were the same solid laser blue as her belt. Flames had etched themselves into her crown and onto the plain silver band. As her collar was lower Dani was able to wear a small ice crystal around her neck on an orange ribbon. Just from being near it I could tell it was made from my ice. The logo of the Phantom's was colored differently than normal, it was a swirling mixture of blue and orange, the colors mixed together like oil and water, none of the colors got muddy.

Dani looked down at herself before glancing at Sam and me. She whispered out a small phrase. "I'm the Phoenix Princess." She screamed as she started on a joy ride around the house. Tucker and Cara looked up from what they had been looking at to watch the young Phantom fly. "THESE THREADS ARE PERFECT. I LOVE THEM!"

Sam and I fist bumped. "Mission Accomplished Glowstick."

"Hell yeah Shade."


	18. Eighteen: The Calm

**Sam's POV**

Walking into Casper the next morning I could tell something was going to go wrong. Chills ran up my spine as I gave Danny's hand a quick squeeze. "Shade? Are you okay?" I bit my lip.

"I think so, I'm not sure. I've just got a bad feeling about today. It's probably nothing." Danny leaned down and kissed me on the lips before turning to the rest of the group.

"Keep on your guard today, Sam thinks something's up." If I had said something like that to Danny when we were twelve he would have laughed and Tuck would have joined him. Now, both the boys, Cara, Dani and I made sure we spoke up when something was up. It resulted in less bruises. Dani gave Danny and I each a hug before running off to her locker and classes. Danny gave me another smile and Cara set a hand on my shoulder before we walked off down the hall to get ready for class.

Moments later I was at my locker, grabbing my books, when Danny whimpered in pain. "Sam? Can you open my locker?" I glanced at the seemingly innocent door.

"Is something wrong with your hands Glowstick? You almost never ask anyone for anything." Danny reached out and tried to open his locker again. He recoiled, his hands steaming.

"Survey says yes." I opened the door, picking the lock easily. Surprise, surprise, there was a vase of blood blossoms inside. I picked up the container with my fingertips. Not only was it cruel to stick these in Danny's locker but it was also a waist of flowers. I picked a black card out of the flowers, the words on it were pure gibberish. They had no meaning. An odd skull was above the writing.

"Do you know what this means?" I asked carefully. Danny used the sleeves on his coat to touch the card, just in case some of the nectar from the blood blossoms had gotten on it. When he spoke his voice was frustrated.

"No. It's familiar but I can't read it. Sorry. I'll see if I can get Jazz to come and get it. She might be able to run it through translators. If that doesn't work the only think that I can think of is get a ghost to look at it. This doesn't feel like a normal prank." I stared at the flowers in my hand. Some of the people in Amity didn't like Danny but nobody would go as far as blood blossoms. They liked to publicly humiliate him, not cause Danny agony.

"Call her," I decided. "We should at least know what we're dealing with. I'll stick these in the trash and meet you in homeroom." Danny nodded and pressed a kiss on my forehead, making sure he didn't touch the flowers in my hands.

"See you there."

* * *

I walked down to the other end of the school. It was out of my way but typically, Danny and Danielle wouldn't be heading to the music room. That meant that contact with the flowers was unlikely. Unfortunately, that didn't mean I wouldn't be in contact with something unpleasant on my way to the music room. Paulina walked over to me, her pale purple shirt was unbelievably tight and her blue mini shouldn't have even been considered a skirt. She smiled a sickly sweet grin.

"Hi Freak," She said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes, barely resisting the urge to hit her over the head with the vase I was holding.

"How original. Calling the Goth girl dating the ghost boy a freak. Am I going to be a vampire today too?" Paulina opened her compact as she walked, dabbing at some minuscule flaw in her lipstick.

"Hm. Not today. Dash told me something interesting last night. He said that the Phantom had a kid. Thought I'd check and see if it was yours or if your perfect little hero was cheating on you." I was boiling. Dash was getting a solid boot in the ass next time I got the chance.

"Paulina. Do you know what a rumor is?" I asked, my tone similar to that I would use explaining something to a toddler. The girl scoffed.

"Dash got the information straight from Danny. You're just in denial. Have fun with that, M'kay Freak? Who knows, it might even be Ember's." Paulina strutted off down the hall and I found an empty trash can to dump the flowers in. I smashed the vase, pretending it was Paulina's face. That was fun. I fumed as I walked across the school to homeroom.

"I hate that shallow little witch. You would thing with all of the crap she spreads she wouldn't have time to listen to any other rumors. The world would be so much happier if she just went away!"

* * *

Danny was sitting at his desk with his head in his hands. I pressed a kiss on his forehead and he brightened slightly. "Hello Beautiful." He whispered.

"What's up with you?" I breathed back as I slid into my chair. He pointed to his books, which were sitting in a pile on the floor beside his desk.

"Somebody stuck a paste of dried blood blossoms on the spines of all of the books, even the ones that are still in my locker, the paste is gone but the residual means that I can't touch them. What's up with you?"

I picked his books up off of the ground, handing mine to Danny. "Paulina and Dash were talking. He told her something that she decided to come rub in my face." Danny's eyes glowed green. "She doesn't know everything." I clarified quickly. "She thinks that you and Ember are expecting."

Danny's nose wrinkled in disgust as he hissed. "Ew! No thank you!" I nodded.

"I almost smacked her in the face with the vase of flowers, that would have meant detention and I don't need that today. I'm coming with you for your interview this afternoon. We rarely finish a school day anyways, I'd kind of like to do well." Danny sighed.

"Let's just survive the morning Shade."

* * *

Three and a half hours and a ghost later we were sitting at lunch with Dani. Danielle and Danny were both nursing bruises from different causes. Tommy socked Dani in the face again and Youngblood came and pranked Danny. He had put some kind of rig in Danny's locker that sent a punch at him. It was faze proof. Brilliant. It made sense that when the dragon fazed through the wall of the cafeteria, I was a bit ticked. I snagged the ecto-lipstick from my pocket and readied to fire. Danielle gasped like somebody had dunked her in water. A rosy tint that was usually absent from her face colored her cheeks and forehead. Danny stood and the rings surrounded his waist when Dani snapped out of her stupor. "No!" She screamed. "Don't hurt her! Please!"

Dani ran over to the dragon, it was the size of a truck with shiny blue scales. Now that I was watching it I could tell that it wasn't as large as I had thought it would be. The dragonet was smaller than Cujo. Danielle walked up to it without any signs of being afraid. The dragon saw her and bounded over to her. It flew in a swirl around Dani, blowing out a stream of ghostly white fire. "W-what the hell?" Danny shuddered out in shock as he watched his little girl spin with the dragon, almost engaged in some kind of bizarre dance.

The dragonet shrunk in the air as it flew, shrinking form the size of a small truck to about the size of a dinner plate, or maybe a really big frog. The dragonet landed on Dani's shoulder, nuzzling it's snout against her cheeks. Danielle giggled. "Ghosty." I started slowly. "What are you doing?" She took her eyes away from the dragon for a split second to glance at me. Her eyes were lit up, ghostly white flames danced around her irises.

"She touched my mind. She said that she wants to be my protector, my friend. I'm going to call her Aquamarine. She's young but wants to stay with me now. Can she? Please?"

"Danielle," Danny started softly. The gears in my mind were turning quickly. I had been planning on finding Cujo and bringing him back for Danny's birthday. I had no doubt both of Cujo and Danny would enjoy being together, they had a connection, I was seeing a similar connection between Danielle and Aquamarine. Danielle rushed forwards and folded her hands in front of her chest. Her lip trembled softly and her eyes got wet.

"Please Daddy." She begged in a whisper. Danny sighed, his eyes softening. He turned to me.

"What do you think Sam?" I shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure there's enough room in the lair for her dragon and Cujo." Both of the halfa's eyes grew wide with excitement.

"Yay!" Dani squealed, spinning in a circle again. The dragonet started to spin around her again and they started their dance again. Dani glowed in the flames, it seemed like she was almost absorbing them.

Danny set his hands on my shoulders. He was carefully holding back his excitement. "I can have a puppy?" He asked with childlike excitement. I laughed.

"Yeah, I was going to find you the undead puppy for your birthday. We can find him a bit sooner now that I spoiled the surprise." Danny did a flip in the air that was humanly impossible. Then he remembered that we were at school and people had eyes. He floated to the ground and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, embarrassed.

"I'm getting a puppy for my birthday." He explained. The teens went back to their lunch like it was completely normal for the students to do backflips in the lunchroom, welcome to Amity Park.

* * *

Down town in at the news station that afternoon things were going fairly smoothly. Danielle was flitting around like a fairy with her new pet on her shoulder as she asked questions about the news station. She had given the creature the nickname Aqua and it was much easier to say than the dragonet's full name. Danny was sitting down in one of the chairs backstage in ghost form. He hated the attention ten times more when he was in human form so he was going to stay in ghost form until he had to switch into human form for the interview. He bit his lip. "Stop that." I scolded softly as he drew blood.

Danny liked the mixture of red and green off of his lip. "Sorry, I'm just a bit nervous. I really don't want to do this." I ruffled up his snow colored locks as he sighed.

"Danny, its Friday. Your birthday's just a couple of days away. We can spend all day tomorrow together, just the team and your family. We'll have our day of normal before the celebration." I put special emphases on the word celebration. Danny tipped his head back so that it was laying on the back of the chair and he could see me better.

"I'm going to fail. I'm going to fail so badly." I glanced over at Dani for a split second to make sure that she wasn't bothering anyone too important. I almost wished that Cara and Tucker were here but Desiree could have been around and I wasn't in the mood for a fight at this moment.

"Are you talking about today or Monday?" I whispered. Danny closed his eyes and brought his hands to his face.

"Monday Shade. I'm not worried about this interview, I just don't like it. Monday is scary." I laughed softly.

"You are going to be amazing. Monday has nothing on you. We got permeation from Lancer to take the day off so it's going to be all about you, Tuck, Dani, and Cara." Danny cupped his hand around my cheek, the smooth fabric of his glove brushed against my face.

"Don't forget you Sam. You're part of this whole deal too. Without you there would be no Phantom." I kissed the frozen boy, my lips burning when I pulled backwards. It was worth it for the kiss. The bell rang signaling Danny to get in position. Danielle and I would stay backstage unless Danny called us out. "I better go." He said regretfully. I nodded, pressing a kiss on his lips again.

"Go blow them away Hero. Dani and I'll be watching. If you need us just call." Danny walked over to where he was supposed to wait to be called out and transformed back to human form. Danielle walked over to me. Aqua was curled up on her shoulder, asleep. When the dragonet exhaled a puff of smoke came out of her nostrils. "Hey Ghosty." I whispered as people started clapping in the audience as Tiffany Snow, Amity's main news woman, walked on stage and sat down. Dani set her daddy a wave before sitting in the chair where he had been sitting a minute before.

"Hi Mom." She murmured softly as she snagged my hand in hers. We were both silent as Tiffany introduced the show. Danny sent me a shy smile as she started to introduce him. I set him one back and gave him a thumbs up.

"Now let's give it up for Danny Fenton/Phantom!"

* * *

Dani and I both turned our eyes to the TV. Danny shook Tiffney's hand and shook it warmly before sitting down. He waved shyly at the crowd of clapping fans. "Hi." He said slightly breathlessly. Tiffany smiled and set a hand on Danny's arm, for his part he didn't flinch at somebody he didn't know touching him.

"Stage fright Danny?" She asked with a slight giggle in her voice. Danny laughed softly.

"More like I'm a bit camera shy. I'm kind of used to avoiding the cameras. The only people who manage to get decent pictures of me are my sister and girlfriend." Tiffney nodded quickly.

"How're you and Sam doing Danny? Almost all of the single girls are hoping you'll be giving us a different answer than last year." Danny shrugged with a wide smile.

"I can't really say that I'm sorry to disappoint them. Our two year anniversary is tomorrow. Sam's backstage with my cousin right now. I found out that I'm getting a puppy for my birthday just a couple of hours ago." He said the last sentence excitedly and I snorted softly. He was still over the moon about Cujo.

"Well what kind of dog are you getting? Or is it going to be a surprise?" A look of uncertainty rolled over Danny's face as he tried to figure out how to word his answer.

"Uh. It's a ghost puppy. I've met him before. He's a shape shifting ghost. When he's happy he's a harmless puppy and when he's angry he's a ferocious beast. I don't know what breed he was when he was alive. His name's Cujo. I named him when I was fourteen." Tiffney nodded and scribbled something down in a notebook. I didn't doubt that even though the interview was live that she would be writing an article about it tonight that would go on the web.

"Speaking of fourteen Danny, when you first got these powers did you ever think that you would go this far? An international superhero that they teach kids about in school?" Danny started to form ice figures with his fingers, something he did when he was nervous.

"Never. I thought I was going to get myself killed the rest of the way or sent to the Guys in White for lots of painful experiments. I never thought that I'd be able to have this kind of normal where I don't need to hide to change forms. Without all of those absences and a few homework extensions I've actually been able to keep a B average in school. It's not my sister's genius but it's still pretty good for about five hours of sleep on a good night and missing at least five classes a week. I'm really grateful, the hero thing has its perks." More scribbles went down on Tiffney's notebook and I could see the rough form of the figure Danny was molding. It was Dani's new dragon.

"What are your favorite of these perks Danny? You have to have a few things you like to take advantage of." Danny nodded as he started to form frosty wings. I'm pretty sure that everyone was watching him work with his ice, staring that the way his fingers swept across the surface as he added new layers of ice to the previous ones.

"The powers are really cool but most of the time the responsibility cancels out the coolness of the powers. I really liked that last week I was able to take Sam out to the pool without all eyes on us all because I asked for a quick favor. It makes me feel like I'm in some kind of comic book or something." Tiffney laughed and pointed at the ice figure in Danny's hands.

* * *

"You seem pretty focused on that figure. Is it just something that you pulled out of your head or is that a figure of something you've actually seen?"

"Actually seen." Danny answered automatically. "Danielle made a friend during lunch today and now she and a dragon about this size of a frog are sticking together." Tiffney's eyes went wide and several people gasped.

"You mean there is a real, live dragon backstage right now?" Danny shrugged.

"Real? Yes. Live? Not so much. If you guys want I'm pretty sure that Dani would come out and show you this dance the two of them have been doing. Sam's also a whole lot better at answering questions then I am." Tiffney shook her head.

"Are you tired of being the center of attention already Danny?" He blushed and nodded rather sheepishly. "What do you guys think?" The crowd cheered. Danielle and I got up and started to walk over to the stage entrance.

_Sam?_ Danny asked nervously.

_Don't get your core twisted Danny. We're on our way_. A wave of happiness and relief washed over me as we walked through the door. Danny opened his eyes and they flashed green for a moment before fading back to blue. Tiffney raised her eyebrows but said nothing to Danny as Dani and I walked over. "Don't get my core twisted? Is that the best you could come up with Sam? You're usually snarkier than that."

I rolled my eyes. "I was multitasking. Dani? Are you going to wake Aqua or are we going to wait for a while?" Dani gently set a hand on the creature as I sat down on Danny's lap in on the armchair he had been sitting in.

"I don't think waking her would be a problem. She's probably going to just hang out on my lap afterwards." She glanced back to Danny and me and started to pout. "You stole my spot." I face palmed.

"Dani, we'll make room for you when you're done. Wake your beast." Danielle only had to scratch Aqua between the two tiny horns on the top of her head before waking. The dragon uncurled and flew off of Dani's shoulders. She flapped her wings as Dani took a step forwards.

"Should I go ghost?" She asked curiously. The dragon squawked, anxious to start the dance. Danny nodded and the halos surrounded Danielle, when they parted they revealed the new jumpsuit in all of its flaming glory. Dani quickly tugged on her gloves, making sure that they were on tightly before taking a couple of steps and starting to spin. Aqua started to spin in the opposite direction. A step of blue fire flew out of Aqua's mouth and curled itself around Danielle. The flames went up her form and into her crown, setting the silver aglow. Dani stopped spinning and Aqua took hold of her arm with both of her feet so Dani didn't fall. "Ta-da." She declared as Aqua helped her stumble back to Danny and I.

"Nice suit." Tiffney commented. "When did you get that?"

"Just last night." Danielle said happily. "Danny and Sam gave it to me at home before bed. I flipped." Tiffney jumped at Dani's little slip.

"The three of you live together?" She asked curiously, her pen flying across her notepad. Dani gritted her teeth and I covered smoothly.

"The five of us live together. Danielle, Danny, Tucker, Caroline and I. We all stay in Danny's place in the Zone. It's easier for the four older people so we won't have to pay rent during college this fall and Danielle is learning about her powers form Danny so she stays with us too."

* * *

Tiffney opened her mouth to ask another question when Danny clutched his head in pain. "Danny?" I asked, slightly panicked.

"Text Jazz." He hissed through gritted teeth so Dani and I could hear. "Text Tuck and Cara too. I need to know what that note said. We have major trouble, tell them to meet us at Fenton Works." Danny wrenched his hands down from his head with difficulty as Dani started texting her aunts and uncle. "We need to reschedule the rest of this interview. I'll even sit for extra time but I need to go do something right now." Tiffney didn't looked pleased but she grabbed a phone out of her pocket.

"If you transform for us today then I think that I can fit you in on Wednesday." I stood up, moving Danielle as she focused on her fingers. Danny moved to the middle of the stage as I jumped off, Aqua grew until her body was about the size of a Great Dane and slid Danielle on her back. She could apparently shape-shift at will.

"Do you need the battle cry too?" He asked, his teeth still gritted. Tiffney nodded,

"It would be nice." Danny huffed out a heavy sigh.

"I'm going ghost!" The rings of white light ran up and down his body, giving him his royal garb again. Danny seemed less in pain now that his crown was feeding him energy. Danny made sure his cloak was secure before picking me up bridal style. We flew through the ceiling with Aqua flying close behind us at about a hundred miles per hour. She was carefully holding Dani as the hybrid texted. We landed on the street in front of Fenton Works. Dani slid her phone in her pocket and ran to the front door, her dragon fluttered about a foot behind her. Danny and I ran inside where Danielle was standing in front of Frostbite and Jazz, looking at a sheet of paper. It was the note from earlier.

"Danny." Jazz said with a hand on Danielle's shoulder. "We have a really big problem." Dani passed the note to Danny and me. We read it at the same time. Above the English was Jazz's careful scrawl, a translation. Down with Phantom! Midnight tonight! Long Live King Pariah! I took a shaky breath.

"It's just a threat. There's nothing to back it up, right?" Danny shook his head, paler than I had ever seen him.

"No Sam. I just remembered that there were markings almost identical to these on the apartment building last week. I was too tired to think anything of it. It was my warning. This isn't an idle threat." Just like in a scary movie a thunderstorm started outside. I could tell through the window that the lightning was green.

"This is a promise of death." Jazz confirmed.

* * *

**Hi. I'm evil now, aren't I? Don't worry. I won't kill everyone off. We still have another book after this one guys. PM me if you want a preview. Rate and review, brush your teeth, you know the drill. See you next week Phans.**


	19. Nineteen: The Plan

**Okay, it's not Wednesday yet, I know. But everyone's on the edge of their seats so I figured I'd give you a bonus chapter. Rate and review. This time, I'll see you Wednesday. Later Phans**

* * *

**Danny's POV**

Sam took a shaky breath and pinched herself. She winced and swore. "Damn it. Okay, this is real. What are we going to do?"

I started to tap nervously on my armband. "Give me a second. Dani, what's Tucker and Cara's ETA?" She whipped out her phone, she was pale and her dragon was brushing against her feet like a cat to calm her.

"Just a couple of minutes Daddy." I nodded.

"Frostbite. This has to have happened before. What was the deal when people tried to overthrow previous rulers? Is there some kind of system or something?" The snow warrior nodded.

"Typically there was a warning in advance so the ruler had a chance to surrender and if they didn't the ghosts trying to overthrow the current ruler would act like what humans called Vikings."

"Destroy and kill everyone." Danielle murmured. Frostbite nodded sharply.

"I take it that when you got this warning you couldn't read it?" He asked. I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated.

"I can't read a single word in this message or the one that Vortex left!" I growled. Frostbite seemed to be expecting this.

"It would make sense that they would send you a message in this manner. This is the traditional language of the ghosts. Most are only able to use it once their core matures." I gritted my teeth.

"That won't happen until Monday. Clockwork said that I'll basically finish growing on my 18th birthday. How does that even count as a warning if I can't read it?" Frostbite shrugged his shoulders.

"The Observants have been in charge. They aren't close with the idea of fairness Great One." The door whipped open behind us, revealing Tucker and Cara, both soaked to the skin.

"What's the 9-1-1?" Cara demanded.

* * *

I passed her the note and a hand flew to Cara's mouth as she handed the note to her boyfriend. "Holy hell. Do we know who's all coming?" I shrugged.

"It wouldn't surprise me if Vortex came, he's the one who gave me the first message and he's already started his storm. The Fright Knight wouldn't surprise me either. With the two of them working together they could bust Aragon from prison and he would join their side. The skeleton zombies are a no brainer if these people are fighting for Pariah. Am I missing anybody?" Jazz stared at the ground nervously.

"Jazz." Tucker prompted gently. "If you have an idea you need to pipe up. Danny's the only mind reader here." She rolled her eyes at the Techno geek and wrapped her arms around her chest.

"What about Pariah himself. They wouldn't be stupid enough to wake him, would they?" My breath caught in my throat.

"Frostbite, could you spare a guard or two for the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep?" He nodded quickly.

"My people are at your command Great One, tell me where you need them to be and they will be there." I closed my eyes as I thought.

"We'll need several at the sarcophagus. Five should be a good number. I'd also like a couple to go stay with Aleece and Missy. If they're going after me then it would make sense for them to go after my allies too. Dora has her own guards so that should be good." I rubbed my forehead with my fingertips. "I feel like we should still have more at the sarcophagus."

Danielle tapped me on the arm. "Send me." My mouth opened and closed like a fish. I didn't want her to go, in my mind she was only my baby girl. But she was more than that, she was also a super hero that could hold her own in a fight. I glanced over at Sam. She gave me a small nod.

"You'll take Aqua with you, you can go if you take with the dragon." Dani nodded quickly.

"Of course I will. I've been training with Dora Daddy, you saw me yesterday. I can hold my own." She walked across the hall to hug me and I held her tightly. "I'll be fine Daddy." She said again, almost to reassure herself.

"Of course you will, you're Danielle. Why don't you go get Grandma Mads and Grandpa Jack for me, okay?" She nodded and moved over to hug Sam before flying down the stairs to grab my parents.

* * *

She turned the corner and I face palmed. "That is going to kill me." Tuck set a hand on my shoulder.

"She'll be fine dude. She's her parents' kid." I nodded and repeated the phrase to reassure myself.

"Of course she'll be fine. What do you want to do Mr. Mayor? This is probably going to mess with your town." Tuck shrugged.

"That is what the repair budget is for. We should probably set up some kind of shielded area for the civilians to go to." I nodded.

"We can't take them to Fenton Works. It's going to be our headquarters so ghosts are going to be running through here like crazy. What about the hospital? I could give the portable shield a jumpstart with my shield powers and we'd be good there." Tuck nodded and whipped out his phone.

"I'll get a message to the town and go to get it set up. Can I use your old room for a call?" I nodded and he ran up the stairs. As soon as he was gone my parents came running into the hall, they stopped short when they saw Frostbite. My mom's shoulders sank.

"What is it now?" Cara walked over and handed her the paper.

"Death threats and declarations of war. Jazzy, you and I should probably get a med center ready. If we're going to have us and the Far Frozen fighting then we should probably have some area to help the wounded." Cara squished back out to her car to grab her med bag and other supplies. Jazz shrugged and ran up the stairs to grab the few things she had brought with from med school. My parents looked at Sam, Frostbite, and I with a hard look in their eyes. Danielle must have left through the Zone already.

"Explain now Daniel Matthew Fenton."

* * *

We spent the next forty-five minutes going over what had taken us an hour to go over once again. It was 7:15 and volunteers were coming through the portal every ten minutes or so. So far I had gotten my cheeks pinched by the Lunch Lady, punched in the shoulder by Sculker, a paper cut from the Box Ghost, kissed on the cheek by Kitty, punched by Johnny because Kitty kissed me on the cheek, and yelled at by Ember for not practicing on the guitar daily. It was a very full living room. "…And that's why we're getting together an army."

My dad was gripping his Jazz action figure in his hand. "What do you want us to do Danny-Boy? Your mother and I can help." I nodded absentmindedly and Sam poked me in the shoulder.

"Answer Glowstick. You're spacing." I jumped before blushing.

"Sorry, I'm processing. Uh, I think that it would be great if you went to go protect the civilians. If they know what my obsession is then they might go after them." Both of my parents quickly exited the room that was full of spectral beings as I covered a yawn with my hand. Skulker snickered.

"Is your human brain tired Whelp?" I sighed as I looked over at where he was sitting with Ember.

"Are you ever going to stop calling me Whelp?" Skulker shrugged.

"It depends, are you going to have my head if I don't stop?"

"Of course not. That would be something Pariah would do, I won't even step foot in his castle." Skulker nodded contently.

"Then no. But back to my question. Is your human brain tired? You haven't hibernated before." I raised my eyebrows.

"Hibernated?" Johnny snorted.

"Punk calls himself king and he doesn't even know what he needs to do to function as a mature ghost."

* * *

I folded my arms.

"I'm not even 18 yet and I didn't find any informational videos on how to be a ghost. I'm kind of winging it. What's this hibernation thing?" None of the guys would answer me so I turned to the girls. Kitty set a semi-solid hand on my shoulder.

"Nobody blames you Danny. If I'm right from the time that I've spent with Danielle that you have infrequent sleeping habits, right?" I nodded and Kitty flashed me a smile. "That makes sense. Even though you'll probably get more powers as you get older, you need more sleep as your core matures. After it does you can sleep for about 24 hour once a week and go without sleep the rest of the time. That won't happen until you've gotten used to having a mature core. In his own way Skulker's asking if you need to rest before the battle."

I glanced at the clock on the wall and frowned. It was eight pm. Three and a half hours of sleep wouldn't hurt. "Do you guys need me for anything at all down here? Like, anything?" Frostbite shook his head solemnly from where he had been sitting in the corner of the living room.

"Unfortunately not Great One. Now we must wait for our foes to arrive. Rest, and we shall wake you and Sam of the Very Vegan prior to the battle." Sam grumbled at the use of the title she despised.

"We'll be in the room with the rocket stickers on the door upstairs. I'll make sure Danny doesn't stay up and worry instead of sleeping." She pulled me out of the room and up the stairs. We both sat down on the bed in my old room, I glanced at the window. It was still light out. I had hours left to wait for the fight. I laid down on my side and Sam stretched out beside me, she was on her side just like me. Her head was tipped so her forehead was touching mine. "It'll be fine Danny. Sleep while you can. You won't be getting much these next couple of days."

I stared down at my gloved hands. "I feel really, really selfish sleeping right now. And I like unexpected fights better than this. The wait is excruciating." Sam sighed and pressed a soft kiss on my nose.

"I know Danny. Just try to sleep." She closed her eyes and I counted her heartbeats until I fell asleep.

* * *

WHAM! A pick was slammed across a guitar, the amp up to eleven. I lurched upwards and fell out of bed, tangled up in the sheets. Snickers filled the room. I stood, fazing myself out of the sheet as I looked over at Sam. She had bedhead and dark circles under her eyes but other than that looked fine. I saluted the ghosts, all but Frostbite had come to wake me. Ember was standing with her guitar in hand, a smug look on her face. "Ha-ha. Next time I need to wake one of you I'll wail. What's the time?"

"It's 11:45 Dipstick. We're getting ready and heading outside to get ready to fight. We're forcing them through Plasmius's old portal. Your sister closed your parents' up when she was getting her little hospital ready in the basement. You have tell your stupid door to go away, we can't do anything to your lair." I walked over and tapped on my door. It disappeared in a spiral of light, I'd have to remake the door later but that would be better than having the armies tramping through my living room. I stood up and brushed myself off, still in Phantom form for once. Sam crawled off the bed and walked over to me, slipping her hand in mine as we walked out of the room, the ghosts followed us, shutting the door behind them.

Sam and I trudged down the stairs, followed by the floating spirits behind us. Frostbite joined us at the bottom of the stairs. I stepped outside the front door and saw that the rain was pounding harder than it had been this evening. Sam followed behind me holding a bag of her favorite weapons. Within a minute she was soaked. The rain evaporated on contact with my skin, my hair drizzled the water in my eyes. I shook my head. "We should head to Vlad's mansion." I turned to Sam. "Are you going to on the front lines like us or are you going to go help out in one of the other areas?"

My girlfriend smacked me on the back of the head. "I'm coming with to make sure you don't do anything too stupid. And to kick some ass." I smiled.

"You're my favorite." Sam nodded sharply.

"As I should be. Let's go finish this crap."

* * *

We had flown to Vlad's mansion, nobody but the Fenton's and the other ghosts had the guts to step into the mad man's home even if he was trapped in space. I fazed through the dusty carpet with Sam's hand clenched with mine, sharing my powers. Five to midnight and there was still not a single soul in the house other than the people that I brought in. Chills ran up my spin, a feeling I wasn't used to. "Something's wrong." I murmured. Sam squeezed my hand comfortingly but other than that nobody responded. Another chill swept through me, this time followed with a sharp jab to my core. I hissed. "Something is so wrong it isn't even funny." I didn't bother to whisper this time and everyone turned to me.

"What's wrong Your Highness?" Johnny mocked. I didn't bother punching him.

"I don't know. I'm new." I said shortly as another chill and jab attacked me, followed by the ghost of a scream. The Lunch Lady, one of the ghosts who like me in the group set a hand on of my extremely tense shoulders.

"If you tell us what it is Dearie, maybe of one of the senior ghosts can help?" Ember crossed her arms,

"I don't like being called a senior ghost. I'm not that old." Kitty sighed.

"Just shut up Ember."

"Why don't you make me?" They started to bicker and the clock struck twelve. I clenched my free fist.

"Why don't you both just shut up? We have no time, the others are going to be here in just a minute, and I have these stupid chills running up and down my back with sharp pain to my core and somebody is screaming in a small voice. Does anybody want to make themselves useful and tell me what the hell is going on?" All of the ghost's eyes went wide, Frostbite's the biggest. I winced as another jab of pain. "What am I missing now? Is there something Clockwork skipped because it wasn't what I needed to learn at the time?" Nobody met my eyes. I huffed. "I can't do anything if I don't know what's going on." The box ghost looked at me curiously.

"Who is closest to you next to the scary maiden? They must be important to set of your instincts into overdrive." It took me a moment to decipher what Larry meant. When I figured it out my eyes went wide. I turned sharply to Frostbite, he was standing stiffly with his eyes to the ground.

* * *

"Frostbite. What does he mean? What is wrong with her?" The ghosts surrounding us looked confused. I was surprised that they hadn't learned about Dani yet. They must have been too wrapped up in themselves to listen to the gossip of the Zone. "Frostbite!" I pleaded. My confident appearance was gone, replaced by desperation. The monstrous ghost took a deep breath, scared of me despite the fact that he was three times my size.

"It is similar to how your human instincts act. When something is wrong you can tell. Now you can tell when something is wrong not just for you, but for others too as long as you are connected to them emotionally. As your friends, sister and parents are all safe within the city it would make sense that it would be Danielle in danger at the moment."

My eyes blazed. "When was the last time you got an update from them?" I demanded. Frostbite shuffled his feet. "When!" I growled.

"Two hours ago." Frostbite responded softly. My eyes grew wide and I tried to fly, that was plenty of time to get Danielle. If it was just seven ghosts verses the entire army it would be cake to wake Pariah and capture Danielle, no matter how powerful the seven guarding the sarcophagus were. Frostbite grabbed my tail, I couldn't get out of his grip.

"Let me go!" I roared as I struggled to get away from the yeti. "Let me go! I need to help her!" Frostbite struggled to hold to me and called for Sam. Her eyes were blazing almost as brightly as mine, her angry almost tangible.

"Sam of the Very Vegan?" Sam gritted her teeth.

"Call me Lady Shade instead of that and you would get a better chance of me calming him down. I don't even truly want to." Frostbite bowed despite the fact that he was wrestling with an enraged halfa.

"My apologies Lady Shade, would you mind calming the Great One?" Sam stepped beside me and I stopped struggling enough so that I wouldn't hit her in the face.

* * *

"Glowstick."

"Yes?" I growled impatiently.

"Quit that. It's not going to help Dani." I stopped struggling and hung limply.

"Then let me go get her." Sam tapped her foot impatiently.

"You would get yourself killed with how amped up you are right now Danny." I growled and screamed in desperation.

"But he could be hurting her!" Frostbite set me down when he was content that I wouldn't run off. Sam knelt down beside me.

"She's your little girl Danny. He's not going to be able to do anything to her. She got your courage and my defiance. She's set." I shook my head, my voice cracked.

"Just let me go get her." Sam lifted my face and kissed me softly.

"I can't let you do that. I came with to make sure that you didn't do anything stupid. If you run off right now you'll be Phantom for good." I hung my head and Sam held me. Skulker rose his hand slowly.

"Excuse me but who is this Danielle you keep referring to? Is she one of Vlad's failed clone experiments? If she is still stable the she is very rare, maybe I should add her to the list." My eyes glowed dangerously as I looked over at a wall clock. 12:30.

"If you put one metallic finger anywhere near my daughter I will gut you like a fish Skulker." He nodded quickly.

* * *

"Staying away from the princess. Is she a clone you call your daughter or what is she? For reasons that have nothing to do with the hunt of course." I eyed him carefully as I stood, brushing myself off and going back into the sane mindset. I had slipped and almost done something stupid. It was something that I really wanted to do but rushing to Danielle without a plan would be and idiotic move. I had to keep my head on straight if I wanted to help her.

"She is very literally, my daughter. Stick an ear in the Zone and you'll hear the story." A rushing roar filled my ears and the creaking of metal startled everyone else. I charged up my hands as Sam grabbed an ecto-grenade launcher. The other ghosts all charged up their various weapons, guns, shadows, lips, boxes, food, and music. The doors opened completely and skeletons swarmed from the portal, smashing a hole in the ceiling as the rushed out. As soon as there was a nice sized hole in the ceiling they realized their target was below them. I stuck out a hand for Sam. "Elevator up? If we go higher we should have the home team advantage. Every one of us has come here to prank Vlad more times than Dash could count." Sam took the offered hand, slipping her ring in one of my pockets.

"I love you. Don't die Danny." I smiled what I hoped looked confident and not forced.

"Of course not. I have to bring the ring back. And I love you too." She smiled and I flew us through the ceiling and out to the street where the skeletons were waiting.


	20. Twenty: The Storm

**HI PHANS! It's Wednesday! I have some new reading material for you. I think everyone is in the mood to kick Pariah's ass now, right? Good. Let's get to it. We're nearing the end of this story, sorry. We should still have a couple of weeks of updates so, yeah. I'm out of things to say so let's head back to Amity. Here's the update! Rate and Review!**

* * *

Sam's POV

I went trigger crazy, furious. They had Danielle. I almost didn't stop Danny from leaving but it needed to happen. He needed to be here. He needed to lead the fight. Dani would have to hold her own for a while. The battery died quickly on the ecto-grenade launcher. I glanced down at it before looking at the skeletons. I had mowed down about sixty of them, Danny a good seventy-five, and the other ghosts about fifty each, excluding the box ghost. He had downed maybe five. I surveyed the fight for just a moment before a grin grew on my face. The skeletons were too dumb to realize that they could go intangible.

I pulled a collapsible staff out of my pocket, similar to the one that Maddie used. I flicked a finger across a button and it expanded, going from three inches to six feet in a matter of seconds. I smirked evilly. "Hi. I'm angry." I slashed through several skeletons at once. The bone snapped under the force I delivered. The fragments littered the ground, the spoils of the day. They would dissolve into mist by tomorrow evening to reform in the zone, just like they had before. I didn't bother holding back.

It was sword verses staff and I had the advantage. We were in my town, not the ghost zone, not to mention that I was faster on my feet. A luck cut grazed my arm and I hissed, slamming the skeletons head off of his shoulders off of his shoulders. The skull cracked in three on the ground. A chill crept into the air. It was more than the chill that the Far Frozen were emitting and it was defiantly colder than Danny. The skeletons all stopped suddenly, their jaws snapping together in a try at mimicking speech without a tongue or vocal chords. A hiss went through their ranks, they flew upwards, a skill that the skeletons almost never used. Just as the ghosts got ready to take to the skies, the skeletons did something stupid. They burst themselves apart, almost in a version of self-destruct.

A burst of bright light blinded us the energy they had been keeping still in their bodies was let loose. Everyone was forced to the ground from a shockwave. I looked around curiously as the ghosts stood, rubbing their sore body parts. Danny managed to fall beside me. "What in the name of the Infinite Realms?" He exclaimed softly, a hand gripping his shoulder. A bone fragment had been embedded in his flesh. I looked down softly to examine myself, making sure that I hadn't gotten hurt too. A shard of a femur had found its way into my shin. Crimson blood oozed from the wound.

* * *

"Shit." I murmured as I felt around the wound. I flexed my leg and bit my lip in concern. It was deep, almost all of the way through my leg. I ripped the fabric on my pants leg and yanked the bone that didn't belong from my leg. I thrust the fabric to the gash and tied it tightly. I gritted my teeth and stood. I didn't feel anything in it, something I knew was a problem, but I could walk so it would have to wait until this was done. Danny walked over to me and laced his fingers through mine.

"You okay Shade?" I nodded and lied easily. There was no way Danny would let me fight if he knew how hurt I was.

"I'm fine, it was superficial. You?" He shrugged and pointed to his shoulder. He hadn't removed the bone.

"Kind of, It's in a tricky spot and it's not shallow, it actually goes all the way through stopping at the other side of my back. I'll have Cara take a look later. Why'd they do that? They can't fight us anymore. Kind of an idiot move in my book." A mighty roar escaped from Vlad's worn mansion followed by the stomping of hooves. The storm got much stronger and something started to lower from the clouds, a super energized Vortex. A plume of blue mist came from Danny's mouth. I sighed and grabbed something with a bit more firepower than a staff.

"Survey says, the real threat's here." Danny floated in the air, speaking a single word.

"Hey." The ghost around us stopped moving, stiffening to attention. "We've got the real threat here. There are nine of us here and three coming though before Pariah. We're going to need to split between the foes. It's Aragon, Vortex, and the Fright Knight. I tell you where to go and you go. No complaints. Do you understand?" Everyone nodded quickly. Danny was glowing brightly, super-charged with the energy from his crown and his fury. It didn't matter that he wasn't 18 or officially crowned yet, it didn't matter that he was wounded, he was truly terrifying. He was throwing off an aura of power that I just now realized was always around him. It always made me feel safe because he was Danny. He fought for me, not against me. Not everyone got the same feeling.

* * *

"It is as you wish Great One. We will do as you command." Danny nodded.

"Thank you Frostbite. You, Skulker, and Box Ghost will go against the Fright Knight. Keep him busy and don't let his sword get near you. The rumors are true. It really does send you to a different dimension. Ember, Lunch Lady, and Johnny 13, you're going up against Vortex. None of your powers are attached to weather so send everything you have at him." Danny finally turned to Kitty and I. "The three of us, are up against Aragon. When Pariah comes I'll need to go up against him. If we're not done with him then the two of you'll need to hold him yourselves."

Skulker looked outraged, "Are you out of your mind Whelp? Sending two females on their own against Prince Aragon! The Goth girl's even human!" Danny's eyes flashed dangerously.

"If humans are so weak then how did Sam and Tucker catch you without me lifting a finger before? How did I catch you? I'm still partially human. And being female has absolutely nothing to do with it. Look at Ember, she's female and she can kick your metal ass to next Tuesday. So can Kitty. Now shut up and do as you're told Skulker!"

The metal ghost cowered and bowed his head slightly. "As you wish." Danny flew towards Vlad's mansion as The Fright Knight and Aragon flew from the inside.

"Get going. I'd like to have this done by morning."

* * *

Kitty and I followed closely behind Danny. His practice on his ice powers had paid off. He had a wicked sharp sword in his hands in less than thirty seconds. The edges were straight and sharp, the un-melting ice reflected off of the street lights. He waited to advance on the dark dragon. "You ready girls?" He asked. I nodded sharply as I flipped the safety off of a new blaster and Kitty powered some super-charged ectoplasm in her hands.

"Let's kick his ass. We're good when you are." Danny flashed me a smile.

"Perfect." He shot through the sky followed closely by Kitty. I darted over the pavement, shooting the beast as I ran. He roared in fury as he tried to find me. His personal vendetta against me was blurring his judgment. I smirked in the darkness. If he was going to act that was I may as well give him a good fight. I continued to dart around, light on my feet despite the fact that I was wearing combat boots.

"Come on your Highness. You're all bark. Not a single bit of bite. Stop fooling around and come get me." I called out, a laugh obvious in my voice. Aragon roared in anger, trying to step on me like a child would step on a bug.

"Show Yourself Wench. I shall put you in your place!" I held my ground until the last moment, escaping yet again. I sent a blast at his belly, blasting through the weaker scales and striking his stomach.

"Not going to happen Your Dimness!" Aragon growled dangerously and my hair stood on end. I held my ground and continued to taunt. "Did you finally find a bride yet? Maybe the real reason you wanted a human bride was because none of the ghost girls would marry you. They certainly wouldn't do it for your looks."

Hours went on and Aragon continued to growl, unable to smash us. I smirked wider and exchanged a look with Danny around what I thought was around five am. Even though it was dark I could see his eyes clearly as he glowed. He nodded quickly as he realized what I was doing. He turned invisible and carefully sneaked over to Aragon's neck. Kitty continued to blast at every weak spot she could see. She yelled out an insult that we should have started with.

* * *

"Come on Beast! Your sister could do better than this!" The spoiled prince froze before spiraling to face the biker chick.

"You Foolish Girl!" Danny managed to grab the amulet, tugging it away from Aragon's thick neck. "NO!" He called in frustration as he shrank. He tried to run away but I cornered him.

"Not going to happen." Danny and Kitty were there in a moment. Danny grabbed him by the collar, using his powers to cancel the fallen prince's.

"Kitty, blow a kiss please." She smiled mischievously.

"My pleasure King Daniel. Later Loser." She puckered up and blew a super charged kiss at Aragon. He popped out of this dimension and into Kitty's. She waved a hand off. "I'll take him out later and hand him over to Walker. What next Danny?" A ripple of energy passed through the street from Vlad's. Danny straightened his shoulders.

"It looks like I'm going to fight Pariah. You two go and help the others. If you can seal The Fright Knight and Vortex away with a kiss that would be awesome Kitty. I should have thought of that sooner." Kitty started to walk away but Danny and I didn't move. He was waiting for me to move and I didn't want him to go. I flung my arms around Danny's neck.

"I love you. Don't you dare forget that Glowstick. As soon as we're done with the others do you want us to help you with Pariah?" Danny shook his head as he held me gently.

"That would make me like the Observants. It's supposed to be a one on one thing. I'll beat him just like I did before. And I love you more than you know Sam." I pressed my lips against his, kissing him quickly.

"I'll be watching." With that Danny and I released. I turned back to see him walking to Pariah, his cloak fluttering in the slight breeze.

* * *

We went over to help Frostbite, Skulker, and Box Ghost first. Kitty turned invisible and snuck up behind him before blowing a kiss. He disappeared with an audible pop and the ghosts looked at the spot where he had been in confusion before Kitty showed herself. She held a hand up before they could ask any questions. Kitty was about to blow a kiss at Vortex before I set a hand on her shoulder. "Wait a second. Skulker? Do you have anything that could cancel his powers temporarily?"

The hunter nodded. "Of course girl."

"Shoot it at him now. I need to ask him a question and then kick him in the head." Surprisingly, Skulker didn't protest. But then again, he was probably used to kicking people. He shot a cannon at the weather ghost and he fell to the ground, tangled up in a glowing net. I ran over to the other group, ignoring the ghosts on my side as I walked over to Vortex. He had salami stuck to the side of his head and tire tracks on his tail. His vest was burned to a crisp. I set my foot on his chest as he tried to use his powers. "Save it!" I snapped. "Where is Danielle?" He chuckled, already resigned to the fact that he had been beaten. He didn't mind as long as Pariah was still in the fight.

"I'm not telling you Girl. You don't care for the little bitch do you? Talkative little brat, she's so convinced that her Mom and Daddy are going to save her. I wonder what she'll think when there's no more Mom and Daddy." I kicked him so hard in the head that the ghost passed out, something I didn't know I could do to him.

"Go ahead Kitty. I'm not getting anything from him." I looked over and the sun was starting to rise. It was just after six am. The people who hadn't listed to Tucker and got to the hospital for protection were waking, every few minutes a scream would echo through the neighborhood as they saw all of the ghosts and bones. Kitty blew the kiss and set a hand on my shoulder, her voice the kindest I had ever heard it. From the way she dressed and acted, I was pretty sure that she and I could be awesome friends.

"She's your daughter too, isn't she? The Danielle you and Danny keep on talking about." I nodded and spoke, my voice hoarse from all of the yelling I had been doing.

"Yeah. She's not even four yet. Danny and I are both very protective. Nobody goes near Danny and Pariah. This is their fight. We'll just sit and wait until Pariah's done for and Danny's too tired to move. Go ahead and sit as we watch them.

* * *

I sat down on the curb and started to watch the fight. It had taken five minutes tops to stick The Fright Knight and Vortex in Kitty's dimension with Aragon. Danny and Pariah were still circling each other, tossing insults. "Why did you even need to come and try to take me down? It's not like I could do a worse job than you did."

Pariah scoffed. "Really? You think that you, a half ghost mutt, could do a better job than me? Pariah Dark, ruler of The Infinite Realms. All of your silly little ghost fighting must be messing with your head boy!" Danny rolled his eyes.

"How about you give me back Danielle, go back to the Ghost Zone, and back to your sarcophagus? I won't even pound you to a paste if you go now despite the fact that you hurt my girlfriend and took Dani." Pariah smirked, his one good eye glinted evilly.

"Yes, your precious daughter. I'm surprised she doesn't degust you. A child made of stolen DNA, without her parent's consent. She should just be melted down and everything would be done with." Danny was blazing a bright green, ectoplasm mixed with human blood soaked his suit.

"You should just SHUT UP!" He fired an ecto-blast with both hands and Pariah stumbled from the sheer force of Danny's attack. The young man floated upwards so he was eye level with Pariah. "Where is Ghosty? Where did you take my baby?"

Pariah seemed to think Danny was funny in his fury, while in reality Danny was holding back his rage, giving Pariah one last chance to give Danielle up and Surrender before he pounded him into a thick paste of ectoplasm and armor. He waved one hand and a green cage appeared on the top of a nearby house. Inside was a girl, small and bloody, she was held floating so that none of her body touched the cage by a dragon, injured so that she couldn't burst her mistress out. Danny's aura flared. "She put up a good fight, no match for Aragon, the Fright Knight and me all at once of course but she would have been able to hold herself against one of them. I knew that she was your child. She looks so much like you and your little girlfriend. I'd only seen your little girlfriend once but I've been dwelling on the image of you and your little friends for the past four years Child. Revenge is one of my favorite past times." I stood and started to run to the building where Danielle was on the top of while Danny duplicated, using two other Dannys to grab Pariah's arms and his original to charge up his fists with ectoplasm.

* * *

"Shut the hell up and let her out Pariah."

He chuckled. "Why would I do that Phantom? She's the perfect leverage. She's small, holds emotional value to both you and your beloved, and she has all of your powers. When I win this fight people will pay an arm and a leg for her. The daughter of the fallen king. Some might even want to breed her to get more halfas. You're strong and she is too. The more of these super warriors, the better the army."

That was it for Danny. He screamed as I got to Danielle. "You BASTARD!" A wail left his throat and he wasn't fazed. The noise was loud enough to wake the rest of the people in the neighborhood and Danielle. She groaned and tried to sit up, failing.

"Mom?" She called out pitifully. "Daddy? Help me. I did all I could. There was too many. Where are you?" I stuck on of my arms through the cage bars and set a hand on Danielle's arms. She screamed before looking, her face buried in Aqua's wings. "Let go of me!"

"Shh, it's just me Ghosty, its Mom." She carefully raised her head up from the dragon's wings. Peering at me curiously.

"How do I know that you're really my Mom and not some shape shifter?" I cupped her face in my hand.

"Because your name is Danielle Cendrine Fenton. You are three years old and will be four this December. Your dragon's name is Aqua and she found you at lunch yesterday. You told me that she wanted to protect you. My name is Samantha Amanda Manson. And Daddy's is Daniel Matthew Fenton." Dani looked over at me.

"Is it really you? Because I want it to be you and it sounds like you. The cage is made of Ectoranium and I can't break it or even touch it. Can you bust me out?" A sinister chuckle came from behind us, a figure emerging from the shadows. Another person helping Pariah that Danny had forgotten. A figure covered in stars swirled into existence and smirked. "In your dreams Child."

* * *

"Hello Samantha. You're dreams taste wonderful, you know that? Even if they are unrealistic. Getting the child out of the cage is a hopeless dream. You need to get past me." Two clammy hands grabbed me from behind. Green sleepwalkers grabbed me and covered my mouth. I yelled for the other ghosts but they were caught up in watching Danny and Pariah. Despite her weak state Danielle floated to a standing position and raised her left hand, glowing faintly.

"Get away from my Mom!" Nocturne chuckled.

"Why should I young Phantom? Because your dreams have finally come true? Newsflash child, I'm not the sand man, I'm what nightmares are made of." Danielle clenched her jaw, the bruises on her more prominent as the light grew brighter.

"I'm not Phantom. That's not the name I chose. That's the name Vlad called me. I am PHOENIX! Now GO AWAY!"

Just like when her father got his wail, the introduction of power was quick. She girl burst into flame, the white hot fire charging at Nocturne. His concentration fell enough so that I could break away from the sleepwalkers. I pulled a thermos off of my belt. The others had been too strong for me to use the device but now Nocturne was weak, he was singed. I sucked him in.

Danielle continued to emit the white hot flames, here glow dimming. "Dani, you can stop now. He's all gone." She nodded with effort.

"I know he is, but the cage is still here." I bit my lip.

"Danielle Cendrine Fenton. Stop that this instance!" The flames died down until they were no more. Danielle put a trembling hand to her forehead.

"I always wanted someone to yell at me like that. It's kind of silly but I have." I smiled as I snagged my staff from my pocket again.

* * *

"Don't worry. If you do something stupid I'll yell at you like that from now on. I'll take the cage down." The wail stopped. Dani and I both looked over to Danny and Pariah. They were fighting physically, Danny punching Pariah full force. Dani glanced at me guiltily.

"I'm really sorry Mom. I tried. There was just too many. I took down a hundred or so skeletons through."

I started to whack at the weakened mineral, it was brittle from Danielle's flames but still took a good amount of power to break. "That's wonderful Danielle. You did perfect. Can you tell me how hurt you are Ghosty?" She nodded wearily.

"I hurt my arm badly, maybe broke it. I can't put any weight on my right leg and it hurts really bad to put any on my left. It wouldn't surprise me if I broke some ribs, if not they're more than extremely bruised. I hurt all over so there's probably other stuff too. Auntie's going to be pissed."

"Language Danielle." I corrected automatically. I took another swing at the cage, trying to keep Danielle talking. "So, do you want your hero name to be Dani Phoenix?" She laughed softly as sat herself down as carefully as she could on Aqua.

"Just Phoenix. I'm not Daddy, I don't need the mouthful. The name would be bigger than me. I And doesn't Phoenix fit me better?" I nodded as I was finally able to break through one of the bars enough to get my hands through. I snapped the bar down, tossing the anti-ghost rock away from us. I pounded enough to get another bar off of the cage before reaching though and picking her up. I carried her off of the roof and down to the ground. Danny snuck a glance at us and visibly relaxed.

He looked down at the fallen king before him as I sat down on the grass, holding my little girl close so she couldn't see the fight. Several of the ghosts stood in front of us, making sure that if Pariah tried to send a shot at Danielle or I, the shot would go in reverse, sent back to him. Kitty floated cross-legged about six inches off the ground next to Dani and me. "Hi. I'm Kitty. You must be Danielle. Your daddy flipped when he found out that Pariah had you. He's never going to be able to do anything to you ever again." Dani smiled shyly at the ghost beside her as I watched the fight. Danny cornered Pariah up against one of the mansions.

"Last chance before you wish you could die again. Surrender." The previous king laughed despite the fact that he was losing.

"Not on your afterlife child." He reached up lightning fast from where he had been cornered, lunging for Danny's neck. Instinctively, Danny made a z in the air with his hand. Pariah's right arm fell to the ground, followed by his left leg. A gash the size of Texas was across the dark king's chest. He fell to the ground. Danny put his hands together and pulled the apart, a string of solid ectoplasm was left dangling between his hands.

Danny started to tie Pariah up like a present. He placed both of Pariah's severed limbs on top of his body, tying the three pieces all together. Danny kicked Pariah in the face to stop his protesting. Now not only was he knocked out but he was also blind in both eyes. Danny crossed his arms and turned to the group. "Is it agreed that I've won?" Everyone nodded vigorously. Danny cracked his knuckles as he started towards Danielle and I. "Good. Now move so I can get to my girls."


	21. Twenty One: The Aftermath

**Hi. Here's my warning. I HAVE NO MEDICAL EXPERIANCE. I GOT THIS INFORMATION FORM MEDICAL TV SHOWS AND THE INTERNET. U WOULDN'T BE SURPISED IF NOTHING IN HERE WAS RIGHT. HAVE FUN WITH THE FICTION.**

* * *

**Danny's POV**

I rushed to Sam and Danielle where they were sitting in the grass. The ghosts parted like I was the plague. Sam had the insight to make sure that Danielle couldn't see the fight. Danielle was holding herself close to Sam, tears leaked down her face from pain. She had taken a beating. I fell to my knees beside the two of them. The first thing I did was kiss Sam. Dani turned to me and gasped. "Daddy." She reached her arms out for me and I picked her up as carefully as I could.

"Hi Ghosty. I'm so sorry sweetheart." Dani put her left hand over my mouth, something that was strange because she was right handed compared to me being a lefty.

"Daddy. I'll be fine. Stop kicking yourself. I'll be sore for a week and then I'll be fine. We both have to regrow some bones." She glanced back to Sam and smiled. "I got my special skill Daddy."

I laughed softly. All halfas had a special skill, something that no other ghost had. I had my wail. Vlad was self-sustaining. "What did you get Danielle? Don't show me, just tell me." Danielle looked like she had gotten a wonderful gift.

"I really am a phoenix Daddy. I set Nocturne on fire."

"Perfect." I laughed and sat myself down the rest of the way so that Dani could sit more comfortably and I could see Sam.

"Hi." She said casually. "We need to get home and get you two looked at." A sticky, wet, liquid touched my leg and I frowned, placing two fingers in the substance. Pure human blood. Sam was bleeding, and it wasn't light.

"You and Danielle first. Where are you hurt?" I demanded. Sam tried to feign ignorance, failing from exhaustion and lack of blood.

"My leg. Where I got the bone around one." I wrapped one arm gently around Danielle, making sure that she was close and wasn't going to fall off of my lap, using to other to untie the cloth around Sam's leg. The wound she had said was superficial was anything but and turning a nasty color.

* * *

"Frostbite!" I called in alarm. The snow monster was at my side in seconds. "I can't carry them both home on my own." I admitted.

"Great One," Frostbite started soothingly. "You can't carry either of them. I shall carry the princess, it would be best for you to choose someone else to carry Lady Shade." I looked over to Sam, she was smiling softly.

"Hey Kitty?" She asked. The ghost floated over, a curious expression on her face. "Can you help me back to Fenton Works?" She nodded quickly.

"If that's what you need Sam, I can do it. It'll give us a few minutes to talk." She helped Sam stand, making sure that no pressure was put on Sam's leg. I continued to sit with Danielle on the grass, gazing up at Sam. She rolled her eyes.

"I'll be fine Danny. Danielle and I'll head back to Cara and Jazz while you wrap things up." I clenched my teeth.

"I will be back at the house in a half hour. I promise." Sam took a deep breath.

"Then I know you'll be there." I pressed a soft kiss on Danielle's head. She had been nodding off on my lap.

"Huh?" She muttered. I chuckled.

"Frostbite's taking you to Auntie Cara and Auntie Jazz. I'll be there soon. I just need to let everyone know it's safe." Dani nodded as I stood, holding her carefully.

"M'kay. I'll see you soon." I handed her to Frostbite, his strong arms holding her carefully. He flew off and I turned to Sam, pressing another kiss on her lips.

"Thirty minutes." I said firmly. She nodded as Kitty gripped her arm, helping her float.

"Thirty minutes."

* * *

I turned as they flew off. I knew if I watched I would follow them. The ghost were all watching me carefully. They weren't scared, just careful. I cleared my throat. "I need Skulker and Ember to stick Pariah back in his sarcophagus. Now if he ever does get out again he'll be blind. The Zone and Amity will both be much safer. Lunch Lady and Box Ghost, I want you to start with clean up. Just get the bones out of the way so that the humans can use the street and then you can be done. A clean up team from Amity will get the rest. Johnny, you can go to Fenton Works and re-open the portal so that you all can get home. You all did well. As soon as you're done with your final tasks you're free to go home. I need to go to Amity Hospital. You're on your own now." To my surprise everyone saluted.

"Don't think this means we like you punk, it just means we'd rather have you in charge than the Observants." I smiled as I floated, leaving the street. I called over my shoulder as I left.

"I wouldn't think of it Johnny."

I flew as quickly as I could to the hospital, even with the crown teleporting sounded painful. I landed on the sidewalk in front of the shield. I tapped on the outside. "If I turn human I'll pass out." I called through the shield. My parents and Tuck lowered the shield, rushing out to meet me.

"Are you okay?"

"We heard Pariah, did you put him in the sarcophagus again?"

"Can I let them out of the ghost shield now?"

I held up my hand, grasping onto Tucker's shoulder with my other hand as a wave of exhaustion washed over me. "Wait. No, I'm not okay but I'll live. Yeah, he's in the sarcophagus and never going to hurt anyone again. Go ahead and let everyone out. It's safe." I gripped onto Tucker's shoulder as a wave of exhaustion washed over me.

"How ripped up is Pariah Dude? If you're this ripped up I can't imagine what he looks like." I managed not to shrug.

"He's blind in both eyes, missing an arm and a leg, and unconscious." My Mom winced.

"Did you have to go that far Danny?" My gaze hardened.

* * *

"Mom. He kidnapped Danielle. If I look bad Dani's a train wreck. Sam's hurt too. Both of them are going to need surgery. I'm going to need to see if there's a surgeon out of med school that'll help Jazzy and Cara. I'm only standing up right now because I've got the crown. I didn't even fight with Pariah the whole night. Most of the night was spent fighting Aragon." Mom winced and glanced at my suit, I was drenched in acid green ectoplasm swirled red.

"Danny." I cut her off.

"Mom. Just drop it for now. I'll take my top off when we get home and you'll see how bad it really is. We're only a block from where the fight was. How much did everyone hear?" Tucker glanced at the people waiting for the signal that they could leave. No doubt they wanted to hear from me to.

"Secret's out Dude. Every time he said something about Danielle he made sure he screamed it. The town knows and that means that the world will know by noon." I rubbed my tumble and my Dad set a hand on my shoulder. I yelped.

"Nobody touch me!" He removed his arm quickly and I set my hand on the bone, holding it steady. "I'll take quick and then we need to go home. I told Sam I'd be home in thirty minutes. Can someone get the GAV started? I'll be at there in a minute." My mom snagged the keys from my dad, walking to the car. Tuck stayed and helped me stay on my feet.

"Come on big guy. Just a few more minutes." I nodded and climbed on top of a car, too tired to even fly. I cleared my throat and the crowd turned.

"I know that you all heard a bunch ghosts tonight. One of them was pretty nasty, believe me. Most of you remember the first time Pariah came to Amity, almost four years ago. He came again last night. I stopped him with the help of some of the more friendly ghosts. He's never coming to Amity again. The shield is gone so you can go home." Nobody moved. I sighed as Paulina called out from the front row, throwing the questions I didn't want to answer.

* * *

"Who's your daughter? What does she look like? Is she going to be okay? Is she Manson's? You can't deny it. That ghost isn't the first person I heard say that you have a kid. Does anyone know? Who stole your DNA and made her?" I glared at the queen bee of Casper High.

"Her name is Danielle but you can all call her Phoenix. She looks about twelve but acts like she's five. She looks a lot like me. Black hair with blue eyes as a human and white hair with green eyes as a ghost. Sam is her Mom. My parents, Jazz, Tucker, Cara, and Sam's parents knew before you did. Plasmius made her when I was fifteen. Sam, Dani, and I only found out that Dani was Sam's and my daughter earlier this month. We were trying to keep her life somewhat normal."

"And will she be okay?" Paulina asked, a smirk was obvious on her face. She had something to stir up, something to throw at us at school. I almost choked on my breath as I pictured how bloody and beat up she was. A tear fell down my check and I brushed it away. I would not cry in front of all of these people. I was the hero. The hero would not cry in front of the people he protected. That's not how it works.

"I really hope so." I cleared my throat, one hand snaked down to fiddle with my cloak. "I need some help. I know that nobody wants to treat me and that you're scared your reputation will tank if you accidently hurt me, but my sister isn't a surgeon yet and Cara can't do surgeries by herself. We're at a hospital. I need someone that'll help. If it was just me I would tell Cara to go for it without help, to get done what she can but it's not. If you'll help grab what you can and follow me." I sat and slid off of the hood I was standing on.

Tuck was there to help me walk to the GAV. I made sure not to look back and see who was following us. I stumbled several times as I grasped as straws, trying to get as much power as I could from the crown. When we got the GAV I finally turned around. There was one person. One. That didn't matter though. It was still one person who could help Dani and Sam. That meant that this man standing in front of me, was amazing. He had dark brown hair and eyes that were a misty grey. He stuck out his free hand, the other holding a med kit similar to Cara's. The difference was that his was a simple blue compared to Cara's rainbow. "The name's Carter, Will Carter. I'm only a second year resident but I'll help if I can." I took his hand with my injured arm as the other was around Tuck's shoulder. I shook it firmly.

"Well Will, I'm Danny. We can figure out payment later. I have a little girl and an 18 year old girlfriend at my parent's house who are both pretty beat up. Hop in and I'll introduce you." Will shook his head.

"No pay Mr. Phantom. I didn't know the hospital was refusing you. If I did I would have signed up to help you months ago. Take my help as a thank you. Now get in the car before you hurt yourself anymore. You're one of my patients now and that means that I can't have you getting any more hurt than you are now." I carefully sat down in the GAV, a tired smile on my face. Tuck had opened the door as I spoke. The young mayor climbed in next and Will piled in last, shutting the door behind him. "Now let's go see what we can do."

* * *

Ten minutes. It took us ten minute to drive to Fenton Works. That ten minutes gave me enough time to store some more energy from the crown. That meant as soon as the GAV stopped I was able to open the door and literally run through the house, down to the lab where Cara and Jazz had set up their mini hospital. Sam was sitting up on a counter watching Dani nervously and Cara was instructing Jazz on the right way to clean the child up as she scrubbed her hands. Danielle was passed out in human form on a cot. I ran over to Sam and sat down carefully beside her. "Cara, How's Danielle?"

The girl looked up from where she was scrubbing her hands. She dried them and snapped on a pair of gloves before speaking. "I haven't had time to do a full examination but it doesn't look like there's any internal bleeding. That's good. Her right arm looks severely broken and her ankle is too. Her other ankle is just bruised. Her ribs are severely bruised. She has a bunch of superficial cuts that we'll take care of after we're done with the big stuff. All things considered she should be fine after we get her bones set and she has lots and lots of rest. Her powers will probably focus on what's broken first and then move on to her ribs. It's a good thing she doesn't have to go back to Casper until Tuesday." I sighed heavily and winced when I tweaked my shoulder.

"For more reasons than one. Pariah shouted to the heavens that she was the daughter of the Phantom. There was no denying it, especially when Paulina started pestering me about my daughter when I was talking to the people. The town knows she's Sam's and my daughter and the world will know by noon." Sam swore.

"People need to mind their own flipping business!" I chuckled softly as I pressed a kiss to side of Sam's face.

"Be thankful some aren't." She looked at me in confusion for a second before the door to the lab opened. Will ran down the stairs, followed quickly by Tucker, and my parents. My Dad was holding a handful of mail. Jazz and Cara looked up from where they had started cleaning Danielle off, making sure they got all of the ectoranium dust off of the girl. Jazz squeaked when she saw Will, a blush spread across her face.

He pulled on a pair of gloves as he spoke, nodding to the blond. "I take it that you're Dr. Green. Mayor Foley told me that these were your patients. I'm Dr. Carter, a surgeon at Amity Hospital." Cara nodded as she went back to cleaning off the green dust from the hybrid's skin.

"I'm Dr. Caroline Green. Danny and Danielle are typically my patients. This is Jasmine Fenton, she's in her last year of med school and going to be a surgical intern at Amity Hospital this fall. Jazz, Tell Dr. Carter Danielle's information and injuries." Jazz snapped out of her shock at Cara's words.

"Right. Danielle Fenton, three year old female Halfa with the body of a twelve year old. She has several broken bones, bruised and broken ribs, and lacerations covering her body. Right now we're clearing the ectoranium from her body so it can't do any more damage. Am I good Caroline?" A sharp nod came from the girl.

"Good job Jazz. We won't be able to do anything to her injuries until we have the dust gone so you should check out Danny or Sam right now. Jazzy and I have Danielle taken care of for now."

* * *

I jumped backwards, intangible. "Take care of Sam first. She's human and at a higher risk than I am." A hiss came from Sam.

"Let him look at you idiot. You have a bone through your shoulder."

"And you can't feel your shin." I retorted angrily. Will glanced at me and walked over to Sam.

"Tell me when it hurts. I take it that you're the Sam that Mr. Phantom said was Phoenix's mom?" She nodded sharply, as I walked over to her and took her hand. Will carefully took Sam's leg and looked at the injury. He looked at me and sent me a pointed look, keep her talking.

"Hey Dad. I need the mail and a pen." He sent me a confused look but a bright smile crossed Sam's face.

"It was supposed to come in yesterday." She breathed as Dad walked over, setting the stack of papers on my lap and pulling a ball point pen from his pocket. I flipped through them quickly, finding the vanilla envelope with the president's seal. I handed it to Sam.

"You open it. Tuck? Can you help us out?" The man laughed as he walked over.

"I was just waiting for somebody to say that they needed me. You have the mayor of Amity at your service. Let's make this legal." I pulled my gloves that were drenched in my blood and wiped my hands on my pant legs. Sam was tracing the papers with careful fingers.

"Hand me the pen Glowstick. I want to sign it now." I handed her the ballpoint pen and she pulled the cap off with her teeth, quickly signing her name where it was supposed to go. She handed me the pen paper. "Your turn Danny."

I took the objects with shaky hands, setting the pen carefully in my hands. I signed my name, my full name, Daniel Mathew Fenton/Phantom. I ran fingers over where Sam wrote her name before handing the pen and paper to Tucker. "You finish." He laughed as he signed his name before handing the paper back to Sam and me.

"There you go. Danielle is now an official US citizen with the same rights as any other little girl. You two are now officially her parents. Congratulations."

* * *

Sam's laugh of joy turned into a cry of pain. "Holy hell, OW! That hurts now Will." The doctor nodded.

"You got really lucky. Whatever came in your leg only pressed your muscles against your nerve instead of tearing them. We can fix that. What's your blood type?" She had to think for a minute.

"O negative. Am I going to need any?" Will laughed softly.

"Miss Sam, I'm surprised you're still conscious. You're defiantly going to need blood if I'm going to relive the pressure on this and sew you up. I can try to call some over but it unlikely. People aren't as willing to let me borrow blood as they are willing to let me borrow a machine or two." I closed my eyes.

"Or you can just take some of mine." Sam punched me in the stomach, her usually strong punch weak.

"There is no way in the Infinite Realms that you're doing that." I set a finger on her lips.

"My human blood doesn't have as much ectoplasm in it and Sam's already got so much in her system that it wouldn't make a difference. I'm O negative and the ectoplasm in my blood increases recovery time. It wouldn't make much of a different to me, Cara and I tested that I have more blood in my body than a normal human. I'd be fine. Passed out from exhaustion without the crown feeding me energy but I plan on doing that soon anyways. I'm barely awake. You'll need blood for Danielle too for when you have to open her up with how bad Cara said her arm was." Sam tried to punch me again but I caught her fist with my hand.

"You will not give me your blood Daniel Mathew Fenton." She growled. I set my forehead against hers.

"And you aren't going to go to Amity Hospital because you won't leave Dani. This is the best solution. I could rest then too Sam. I'm exhausted. Just let me give you the blood and sleep." She glanced around the room.

"Does anyone else have O negative other than Danielle, Danny and I?" Nobody spoke up. My mom sighed.

* * *

"Jack, Jasmine, and I are all A. Danny's the only one in the Fenton's." Cara didn't even look over at us.

"I've got B blood Sis. Sorry." Sam looked desperately at Tucker. He sighed.

"AB Sam, it wouldn't work." I took her face in my hands, pressing a kiss on her lips.

"Sam. Just let me give you the damn blood." She sighed.

"Fine. Just be careful." I slid off of the counter it was sitting on and grabbed a cot the size of a twin bed, setting it up in the corner. Will walked over to his kit that he had set beside Cara to grab some of the things he needed.

"Nobody moves me to my lair or even the room upstairs. I want to be down here so somebody can wake me if something happens to Dani. Am I clear?" Everyone nodded but Sam. She didn't need to, she would probably be sleeping beside me as soon as Will was done with her leg. She wasn't going to force me away from Dani just like I wouldn't force her. I opened a door to the lair in the corner. I was almost out of energy as I walked over to Danielle. She looked fragile, not like the loud, spunky little girl I knew. I looked carefully at Caroline. "If I kissed her forehead would it hurt her?"

She shook her head. "Go ahead Danny. As soon as we have the blood we can fix her up. As soon as she's all fixed up and sleeping and Sam's all set Will and I'll fix up your arm." I pressed a kiss on her face, running a hand through her raven hair. I walked over to Sam, pulling a small gold ring out of my pocket.

"Told you I'd bring it back Shade. Happy two year anniversary." She reached out for me and I moved closer so she could kiss me, her smooth lips a great difference from my wind chapped ones. She slid the ring over her finger after she pulled back.

"Sleep well Glowstick." She whispered. I pressed another kiss on her nose.

"I will." I clapped a hand on Tucker's shoulder on my way to the cot, Jazz was standing there getting ready to draw blood. I sat down heavily. "Are you going to stick me Jazzy?" She laughed.

"Yeah, I am. Sleep well Hero." I nodded as I triggered the white rings and everything went dark.


	22. Twenty Two: Recovery

**URG! This chapter is embarrassingly small and filler. Don't burn your eyes out.**

* * *

**Sam's POV**

Danny passed out as soon as he turned human, slow deep breaths making his chest rise and fall. Will looked at him with wide eyes. "Does that happen often?" He asked curiously. I smiled as he walked back to me, an armful of medical supplies in his hands.

"Which part? The flashing between forms or the passing out?" Will sent me a look.

"The passing out Miss Sam." I closed my eyes as he started to disinfect my leg, the cold stinging just slightly.

"You don't need to call me Miss Sam, just like you don't need to call Danny Mr. Phantom. We all sound so old then. Danny isn't even eighteen yet." Will laughed softly.

"Then does that happen often Sam?" I shook my head.

"Not really, Danny's gotten a lot better at knowing his limits than he was when he was fourteen and clueless. He only passes out once every month or two now. That's pretty good considering how often he fights ghosts." Will continued to clean the dirt and ruble off of my muscle.

"How often does he?" I smirked and opened my eyes so I could see what Will was doing.

"Are you a surgeon or a spy Mr. Carter?"

"A surgeon. I'm just keeping you talking so that I know that you're doing okay. It's what I do when I work with trauma patients. It helps keep people calm." I folded my hands in my lap, trying to scrape the blood out from under my nails.

"I am calm. This isn't the first time Danny and I've gotten hurt fighting ghosts." The man gave me a pointed look.

"But it's the first time your daughter's injuries have gotten this bad, am I right?" My silence was answer enough. "That's what I thought. You and Danny were both so fidgety, glancing over at her every minute or so even though she's with your sisters and they're completely capable of taking care of her. You're just nervous, it's nothing to be ashamed of. I see it when I'm running around the ER all the time. I'm going to be a trauma surgeon." I sighed.

"Do you ever wish that you chose some other kind of job? I would think that seeing people hurt all of the time would get depressing." Will shrugged.

"I guess it does every once and a while but most of the time it doesn't bother me. I like being a trauma surgeon because I get this rush. Sometimes its touch and go, what I can do saves lives. It makes me feel powerful, important. That's enough about me though, what's your job? Danny said you were eighteen. Are you still in high school or are you in college right now? What do you and your friends want to do?" I mimicked the shrugging motion that Will had made just minutes before.

"I'm graduating high school on Friday and then I'll go to Amity College this fall with Tucker and Danny. My childhood dream was always to be an environmentalist but now that doesn't really work with my plans. I was thinking that I might be an artist, it would work because I don't have to pay to live in the Zone and food's free in the lair too. I could be pretty flexible with the ghost fighting and I can draw pretty well. Tucker's already an inventor, he made these awesome hover boots for Cara but he's still going to college to learn more anyways. Danny's plan is a mix of several different jobs. He wanted to be an astronaut when he was little but when he tried to sign up for the classes he would need he just, couldn't. He has two obsessions, Family and keeping people safe. He couldn't be near his family in space and he wouldn't be able to be Phantom there either. Maybe if there's ghost problems in space he might be able to be an astronaut, just not yet. Instead he's going to have his own slur of classes he's going to need and then apply at a police station. We're all taking some politics courses on the side because we're pretty much the go between people who communicate with the Zone and Earth."

Will raised his eyebrows as he helped me off the counter so that I could move to a cot. "I have to say that the three of you are all pretty strange. I'm glad I met you. I need to go and grab a couple of things, including anesthesia. Then I'll be able to patch you up and while you're sleeping the drugs off we'll patch up Phoenix." I nodded, dragging a cot over to beside Danny was sleeping with one arm. I was glad that the object was so light.

"Okay, I won't move. You go. It's not like I'm going anywhere. I might walk around the lab but that's it." He eased me down on the cot and I flexed my leg. Still nothing.

"Good. Mr. Fenton? Can I get a ride to Amity Hospital? I need to grab a few things so I can help Sam and Phoenix." He nodded quickly, getting up from where he had been sitting and walking up the stairs. Will followed close behind.

* * *

As soon as they were gone from the lab I got up, my leg was weak but that wouldn't stop me. "You can stop blushing Jazz, Will's gone." The redhead blushed to the tips of her ears from where she was sitting by her brother.

"I wasn't that obvious, was I?" Maddie snorted.

"Sweetheart, you've been pink for an hour. Sam, should you be walking?" I shrugged as I crossed the lab.

"Probably not. I don't care." I sat down next to Danielle. "And now I'm not moving. I'm fine. How is she Cara?" Caroline looked up from where she was sitting by Danielle's feet.

"I'm setting her ankle. She's going to need a cast on this ankle for a while, how long I don't know but for at least a while. If I let her choose a color she probably won't have a big issue with it. We'll have to do the same to her arm after Will's back to help us set that. We'll need to open her arm up. It's going good Sam. Rest." I folded my arms defiantly.

"I can't. Maddie gets it. She's been up all night and she's not resting because Danny is sitting in the corner with a bone through his shoulder. I'm not resting because Danielle isn't okay." Tucker walked over and set a hand on my shoulder.

"Why don't you go lay down by Danny? If you nod off and something changes about Danielle, I'll wake you myself. You're not going to be able to help Dani if you hurt yourself more Sam." I glared at him.

"Tucker Foley, if you move me from this room I will set fire to your PDA." The man shook his head as he helped me up, not letting me walk across the room myself again. Jazz smiled from where she was sitting.

"There's room for you to lay beside him. I stuck his right arm so careful." I couldn't help but smile.

"You check on Danny and me while we're sleeping. He always wraps his left arm around me. You knew." Jazz stood and kissed me on the top of the head just like she always did to Danny.

"Of course I check on you. You've always been like a little sister to me Sam, even if you didn't want me to be a sister to you. I've always checked on Danny on my way to bed, I just didn't stop when you moved in." I sat down on the cot, stretching out next to Danny.

"Wake me when everyone gets back." I mumbled, my eyes closing without my consent.

* * *

I woke to a hand on my shoulder. I turned on my side. "Ghosty," I mumbled. "Go talk to Marcie. Mom is sleeping." The person with the hand shook me harder.

"Sam. Wake up." Cara instructed. I opened my eyes. My sister was standing above me, hands on her hips. Some of her short blonde hair had fallen from her hairband.

"What?" I murmured as I sat up. I was still partially asleep. Last night's events were still blurry. Everything hit me like a ton of bricks and I lurched upright. "Dani!" Cara set a hand on my shoulder.

"Calm down, Danielle's fine. She's asleep. Her ankle's set and we're letting her rest before doing anything to her arm. Jack and Will are back so we need to prep you so we can fix up your leg." I carefully stood and Cara grabbed my arm.

"I hate this so much." I hissed. Cara giggled as she helped me walk away from the cot and over to the lair.

"That doesn't surprise me. You hate not being able to do everything yourself. Come on Sam. I almost didn't want to wake. You and Danny were both so peaceful and quiet for once. It was sweet. Come on Sammy."

"Danny's the only one allowed to call me that. And I don't want to go to the lair Cara." I was more awake with each step, very aware that I wanted to stay in the human world right now. Cara sighed.

"Sam. I'm just bringing you home so I can get you in some clean clothes. After that we're going back to Fenton works. Jazz is watching Danielle and Tuck is watching Danny. Everyone's fine." We walked through the lair, Marcie came out and gasped when she saw us.

"My Lady! You're injured." I nodded.

"Yeah, I am. We need to grab some stuff from my room. Can you open the door for us Marcie?" The little ghost nodded.

"Yes, of course My Lady." She flew over to the door and opened it quickly. Cara and I walked over through and I sighed.

"You can let go of me now Cara."

"No. That would make Jazz and Tuck really angry if I let you do that. Do you have a nightgown?" I shrugged.

"Check my closet. I just go in and I can find what I want." Cara shrugged and set me down on my bed. One of the ghost girls had come in and made it while we were gone. Cara came back holding a short sleeved burgundy night gown a moment later. I pulled off my shirt and snatched the garment from Cara, pulling it on over my head. I tried to pull off my pant and I failed. "My leg is swollen. Help?" Cara came over and helped me out of the bloody clothing. She took my arm and helped me walk again. Marcie followed us into the human world, her hands flew to her face to muffle her scream when she saw Danielle. I turned my head back towards her as Cara set me back down on the cot beside Danny. "Marcie. Go back inside the lair. She'll be fine." The girl's lip quivered.

"But my lady!"

"Marcie." I said firmly. "I'll tell you what happened later. Danielle is safe. She's with her aunts and her uncle. Her grandparents are here and so are her parents. Go back to the lair." She nodded vigorously, and she turned, screaming again when she saw Danny. She fled and probably went to go alert the servants that the Fenton/Phantom family was injured. I looked over at Will, he was staring at the door where Marcie fled, his mouth gaping ever so slightly. "So. I'm ready when you are." He shook his head and gave me a slightly stunned smile.

"Then let's get started." My leg was disinfected and drapes were laid over my body. An oxygen mask went over my face. With just a couple of breaths the world went foggy.

"See you all later."

* * *

I woke up sleepy, out of it. It must have been from the anesthesia. I pushed myself into a sitting position. I turned to look at Danielle, a cast on her lower arm. All of the cast was done but the hard outer coating, the part that Cara said that she was going to let her choose the color of. I turned to my other side. Danny was asleep. Really asleep, not passed out. The bone in his shoulder was gone. "All three of you did well." I turned to the voice. Tuck was sitting in a chair beside me, his PDA traded for a laptop.

"Hi." I said, shaking my head slightly. Tuck laughed.

"How do you feel Sam?" I set a hand to my forehead.

"Fuzzy. How'd they do?" Tucker set a hand on my shoulder.

"They're good Sam. Danielle should wake up some time with in the next hour. No problems. Danny's anesthesia should were off just a while after Danielle but nobody expects him to wake up until tomorrow. What did he do to Pariah that made him so tired?" I shook my head.

"Lost his temper. There was a twenty minute wail involved." Tuck nodded.

"That makes sense. Are you thirsty Sam?" I nodded.

"The last time I had something to eat or drink was at four yesterday before Danny's interview. What time is it now?" Tucker set his laptop on the ground.

"About a quarter to six. Will left about an hour ago giving Jazz and Cara instructions. He left us a work number and slipped Jazz a personal cell number. She was beet red." It was my turn to laugh.

"Where is everyone? Did Cara and Jazz go to sleep? Why aren't you sleeping? What are you doing" Tuck, set both of his hands on my shoulders.

"Sam. Chill. Everyone is sleeping. They went to bed a half hour ago. We're taking shifts sitting with you guys. Cara and Jazz did go to sleep, Jazz is up stairs and I personally made sure that Cara went to her room. I couldn't sleep if I tried Sam, my brain is going bonkers. I'm answering emails, people don't seem to understand why I want to resign. I can't hold good grades in college and be mayor. I barely scrapped through with good grades in high school." I propped my hands up on my fists.

"When are you resigning? You at least gave them some kind of warning." Tuck rolled his eyes.

"I'm not stupid Sam, I gave them a month's notice. I'm not mayor effective the thirty-first." I nodded.

"That's good. Can I have some food now?" Tuck rolled his eyes.

"I'll be back with your rabbit food in a minute." I laughed.

"I should have some in the fridge in the lair."

"Yeah, Yeah, I'm going."


	23. Twenty Three: The Coronation

**Hi Phans. This update is soo early it isn't funny. Inviso-Al has been ****_really_**** excited for Danny's coronation. I just finished the chapter and decided it would be good to make somebody happy. I'm thinking on going to somewhere around thirty chapters or something. I'm kind of winging it. Here's a really long extra chapter to make up for the really short filler you guys got earlier. Later Phans!**

* * *

**Danny's POV**

I woke up with a sharp pain in my shoulder. I turned, thinking it was just the way I was laying. I was still uncomfortable. I wrapped my arm around Sam and she snuggled into me, her breathing pattern was different than the one she had when she was sleeping. I sat up and opened my eyes, everything was bright and harsh. We were in the lab. I looked over at Sam to see she was sitting in a tee shirt and shorts, a huge bandage on her shin. My hand went to my shoulder without permeation and my eyes followed it. I had a huge bandage across my bare shoulder, sharp was shooting pain, much worse than the burn I had gotten last week, was shooting throughout my body. "What the hell happened?" I asked Sam, the details fuzzy. I sat with my mouth open when I heard my own voice, fear washing over me. I sounded like evil. I sounded like Dan. Sam's eyes were wide but she swallowed.

"What's the last thing you remember? Come on Danny, I know it's you taking. It doesn't matter what your voice sounds like." Bits and pieces were coming back. I fought with Pariah and won. I was slammed to the ground from a skeleton blowing up. Sam hurt her leg during the fight. I pounded Pariah because he hurt Danielle. My hands dropped to my lap.

"Danielle!" I called out before hearing my voice again and winced. The door to the lab from Fenton Works opened. Danielle floated down the stairs at top speed before changing direction and landing in front of me.

"Daddy!" She gave me a hug the best she could with her casts. She had an orange one on her arm and a blue one on her leg that peaked out from underneath her shorts. She was had bruises across her face but was still smiling. "You're okay. I woke up yesterday and Mom said to let you sleep. Auntie Cara and Uncle Tuck have been babying me because I got hurt." I chuckled softly. I would have to talk. Talking was good. He wasn't in my voice, it was my voice. Dan had just been borrowing it.

"I'm glad that they're babying you. Did you pick out the colors on those casts?" Dani nodded as she sat down on my lap. Unlike usual, her hair was down.

"I won't be able to cover up the orange one but Auntie said I should be able to pull my jeans over the blue one." I kissed the top of her head.

"I think they're awesome colors Danielle. How about I talk to Mom and you go grab a permanent marker so I can sign them." She nodded, pressing a kiss on my cheek before hugging Sam and floating away. She never touched the ground. I swallowed like it would make the new voice go away. "Okay. What have I missed since I passed out?"

* * *

Sam filled me in on the surgeries pretty quickly. Will and Cara fixed up her leg, Dani's arm, and my shoulder. That was simple enough. The other stuff wasn't. "You mean I slept through the weekend? And it's Monday morning?" Sam nodded from where she was lying beside me, her head on my lap.

"Yeah, I tried to wake you up yesterday but you were still dead to the world. You woke me up with how you were glowing around midnight. It was bright. It was almost like somebody stuck a rainbow in your core. The physical changes aren't too big." I looked down to my hands.

"What changes Sam?" She stood up, pulling her cell phone out of her pocket.

"Can you stand up please Glowstick?" I shifted my weight and got out of bed. I was a bit wobbly but that happened when you didn't move for several days. A flash later and Sam was sitting beside me, her head already on my lap. She passed me the phone.

"That's what you look like." I looked at the screen with squinted eyes. I was a bit taller than normal and my chest a bit broader. My face was different, almost a bit more mature. It had lost some of its babyish roundness overnight.

"Crap. I grew up." Sam laughed.

"I'm glad you're humor didn't change, even if your voice did. You still sound like you. I'd bet you're starving, right?" I nodded vigorously.

"Food would be very welcome. I really like food. Especially because I haven't eaten in days and I used a load of energy." Sam laughed, punching me in the arm instead of the shoulder this time.

"Come on. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to find you something."

* * *

Five sandwiches, two sodas, and a bag of Doritos later my hunger was finally starting to dull. I was starting to make another PB & J when the door to my kitchen burst open. My family flooded through the door with a collective cry of "Danny." My mom, dad, and sister all rushed up to hug me and I chuckled, returning their hugs gently. Tuck and Cara had sat down beside Sam at the table instead of mobbing me. Danielle placed herself on Sam's shoulders.

"And I thought my house was the one place I wouldn't get mobbed." I said with a smile. Jazz ruffled my hair pressed a kiss on the top of my head.

"You're my baby brother. It's my job to surprise you. How's it feel to be 18 Hero?" I stuffed a bite of sandwich in my mouth before swallowing, a slight smile on my face.

"Right now I'm hungry. And terrified in so many ways." My dad clapped a hand on my back.

"I can see why, you're going to be king!" I swallowed dryly before taking a swig of soda.

"Can I finish my food before we head straight on to talk about the coronation? Clockwork, being the awesome mentor that he is, got most of the prep stuff covered. I think the coronation is at three. Our list is done because there wasn't any natural portals to close. I want to have time to breath without freezing something before my lunch is done." I felt my pocket, huffing when I realized my phone wasn't there. I hadn't willed any clocks in the lair yet. "Does anyone know if it's even lunch time?"

Danielle cleared her throat and everyone turned to her. "Hi, it's 12:49 pm. Can I have a sandwich?" I handed her the sandwich I had just made for myself, slapping together a new one.

"Am I the only one that's majorly terrified? Because I feel like I'm the only one panicking." Tucker walked over and ruffled up my hair. Despite my sudden growth he was still taller than me. Damn it.

"You have the most going on today. It makes sense that you would be the one panicking Dude." I glared at him.

"You don't need to remind me Tuck. My brain is in overdrive." He chuckled.

"Just be thankful. We didn't need to postpone it because of Pariah. You would have another day of waiting then."

I glanced over at the girls, Danielle's bruises stood out like a sore thumb on her pale face and Sam was rubbing her leg. "Are you two going to be okay? We can postpone if you need more rest." Sam laughed.

"I'm fine but do you want to postpone this Danny?" I shook my head quickly.

"I just want it over with. But I will wait if you guys are going to be in pain." Danielle flew over to me, sitting as gently as she could on my shoulders.

"Daddy. It doesn't hurt as much anymore. I want this to happen today. I'm going to be a princess!" Everyone laughed at her enthusiasm. Dani reached down and stole my sandwich from my hands, her powers were in overdrive trying to heal her so she was starving. I grabbed a new bag of chips and started eating out to that. Cara crinkled her nose in disgust.

"Where do the two of you put all of that?"

* * *

I shrugged and Danielle bobbed with my shoulders. "Our cores I guess. All I know is our metabolisms are super high, and for some reason, when Mom, Dad, and I did some tests when I was sixteen, I couldn't get drunk. We just burn everything off." The blonde shook her head and grabbed a couple of glasses of water, downing one and bringing the other to Sam. Danielle floated to the ground in front of me and I knelt down to her height. She pulled a permanent marker out of one of her pockets and handed it to me.

"Daddy," she started, "can you sign my casts?" I chuckled and took the offered marker. When she offered me her arm I could see that nothing had been written on the cast yet.

"Do you want me to sign Daddy or Danny Ghosty?" She pondered it for a moment before smiling.

"Can you sign Daddy? If the secret's out than I don't have a reason to pretend you're not my Daddy." I kissed the top of the ghost girl's head and uncapped the marker with an audible click. I signed both of her casts where she could see my signature. When I was done she giggled and tossed her good arm around me in a hug. "Thank you." She squealed.

Dani floated around the room for another ten minutes, getting everyone else's name's written on her cast. As she fluttered around like a butterfly I looked around, somebody was missing from our group. "Danielle," I asked slowly. "Do you know where your dragon is?"

The girl nodded, whistling lowly. The shiny blue beast came flying through the wall, skidding to a stop at Dani's feet. The hybrid reached out and scratched the dragon between the horns on the top of her head. "She healed really quickly, she just had to disappear to the Zone for a while. She came back by the time I woke up. She was just napping in my room I think."

The dragon nodded and Sam laughed at the dragon's confirmation. "Why don't the two of you go head of to your room and get ready for Daddy's coronation Danielle?" A look of excitement flooded Dani's face.

"You're right! I have to pick out something to wear!" She zipped out of the room followed by Aqua and Sam set her head in her hands. Cara rubbed Sam's back as she giggled.

"You had to get a girly little girl Sam. Even better, you got a girly little princess."

Sam shot her sister a look. "You can go get ready too Caroline. We all probably should."

Mom set a hand on my good shoulder as she steered me to my bedroom. "Come on Danny. Let's go get you into some nice clothes."

I huffed. "I still don't get why I can't wear a jumpsuit." Tucker started to laugh from the room behind me.

"No doubt about it, Danny's a Fenton."

* * *

I had taken two showers, let my mom try to tame my hair, let her cut my hair, I even agreed to not wear my jumpsuit but this was not what I agreed to. Now I was standing with my eyes glowing brightly, in ghost form, putting my foot down.

"No." I declared, "I will not wear a suit." My mom was standing in front of me holding a stiff, scratchy set of clothing that I wanted nothing to do with. I would wear a dress shirt if I needed to but I would not wear a suit.

"Come on Danny," She insisted, hands on her hips. "You will be in front of thousands of ghosts getting crowned and you will not be doing that in a pair of blue jeans." I folded my arms like a child and set my jaw.

"I would rather go out there in my boxers. Every time I put a suit on I end up getting slammed, pounded, my powers disabled, or something of the kind. I will not wear a suit."

Mom smiled, deciding to change her approach. "Hey Sam? Can you come in here dear?"

"What?" I squeaked, turning bright red before going invisible. I was in just my boxers because I had spent the last ten minutes protesting wearing a suit instead of getting dressed. "Tell me when it's safe."

Sam walked through the door with a box in her hands. "What's up? I thought Danny was in here."

I cleared my throat. "I still am, mom and I are just at a standstill."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Danny, just wear what she wants before I find Danielle and have her cancel your powers out."

"But," I complained. "It's a suit Sam. The kind that you have to wear a tie with." Sam sent a glare in the direction on my voice and I sighed. "Fine."

I landed on the ground beside my mom, still invisible. I took the pants from her and pulled them on before turning visible. Sam leaned against the doorframe as I pulled a dark green dress shirt on.

My mom laughed softly. "I should have called you in when he first started arguing Sam. He would be dressed by now."

Sam returned the laugh and walked over to me as I fumbled with the buttons on my shirt. She gently removed my hands buttoned the shirt for me. "Maybe next time." She pressed a quick kiss on my lips before gently nudging me to the door. "Go on, I'll be out in a few minutes. Why don't you go check on Danielle?"

I didn't have a chance to answer as she pushed me out of the door. My mom was already standing in the living room tying a tie over the top of my dad's jumpsuit. I chuckled softly as I realized that I had a tie in my hand and a coat over my shoulder. Sam had handed that all to me without me noticing because I was paying attention to her. "Yup. I'm a goner."

* * *

I walked down the hall as I tied my tie on stopping outside of Danielle's door. I knocked on the wood before calling to the girl inside. "You almost ready Ghosty Girl? We've only got another half hour or so."

The door opened a crack before Danielle stuck her head out of the door. She was in ghost form just like I was. "Daddy, Can you help me with something?"

I brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face and smiled. "Sure, what do you need?" The door opened the rest of the way and Danielle was standing with her dress only halfway on. A blush of embarrassment covered her face.

"I can't get the sleeve on over my cast or reach the zipper." I stepped inside of the girl's room and sat down in her desk chair. I turned the sleeve of her dress intangible.

"Try that Dani." She stared at the sleeve before face palming.

"I should have thought of that." I chuckled.

"I only know because sometimes I hurt myself so badly I can't move my through my sleeves either." She stuck her arm through the sleeve and sighed contently when she looked at herself on a mirror on the back of her door. She spun just slightly and the bottom of the dress swayed. The dress had sleeves to her elbows but they hung off her shoulders. Most of it was black but there was a large strip of bright green around Dani's middle. Where the black skirt ended where her ankles were but orange ruffles made the dress floor length. She didn't wear any makeup and the only thing holding her hair from her eyes was her crown. I held up her hair and zippered the dress for her.

"There you go, all done. Can you spin for me?" A look of bliss was on Danielle's face.

"Yeah, I can." She floated just a bit higher in the air than she had been before and spun full circle. When she did, the black floated up just a bit to show more orange ruffles.

I stood and pulled the girl into a hug. "You look beautiful Danielle. Let's go see the others." She took my hand and left the room with me, her dragon on her shoulder.

* * *

We sat on the couch beside my family, waiting for everyone else. Danielle was antsy, her fingers scratched underneath Aqua's neck as we waited for everyone to come out of their rooms. I chuckled when I saw Danielle's bright green sneakers on her feet instead of dress shoes. Cara walked out of her room first, she was wearing a blood read halter that brushed her knees and her rocket sneakers. She came over and stood in front of me.

"Stand up Danny I want to check your shoulder." I groaned as I sat up, I had just gotten comfortable and I was still sore. Cara rolled her eyes and started feeling my shoulder. She clicked her tongue and smiled. "That feels good. You're starting to grow some bone back."

"Do you really need to talk about re-growing body parts in the living room babe?" Tuck groaned as he walked over. Cara convinced him to wear a suit too, his shirt was just as red as Cara's dress.

The doctor nodded. "Yep. It's my job. You look nice." He pressed a kiss on Cara's cheek.

"Thanks, are we just waiting for Sam?" I looked down at my toes.

"I actually need to grab some shoes but I can't because she's getting ready and pushed me out." Jazz rolled her eyes as she smoothed the skirt of her dark blue dress.

"Danny. Did you forget that you're connected to this place with your mind?" I opened and closed my mouth, a light green coloring my cheeks.

"Yeah, I actually did." Everyone in the room rolled their eyes as I snapped my fingers. Shoes and socks fell from thin air and in front of my feet. I sat down and pulled my sock on before phasing into my shoes. I heard a door creak and turned to where my room was before my jaw dropped, dark green flooded my face.

Sam was wearing a sleeveless dark green dress. The part around her torso was snug but if poofed out as it got closer to the ground. She wasn't wearing lots of makeup, just a bit of eye shadow and lip gloss. She had a prism made of ice that I could tell wasn't mine, Danielle must have made it. What really caught my attention was that her hair was down, not in any ponytail. Black locks fell down her back with a natural wave that Sam hated. She blushed when she saw me and my reaction.

I closed my mouth and walked across the room to Sam, pulling her into a kiss. She chuckled softly. "I take it you like it?" I shushed her with another quick kiss.

"You look beautiful, but it has nothing to do with the dress. Though you do look really nice in green." She laughed and set a hand on my face.

"You might have told me once or twice." We walked over to the rest of the group before Sam cleared her throat. "Danny, Danielle, I need your crowns. You'll be getting them back soon, I'm just holding on to them for a while. And Dani, leave the dragon upstairs." I took my crown off of my head and closed my eyes as a surge of energy left me. A moment passed and I was fine. I took a deep breath and handed the metal to Sam as I opened my eyes.

"I guess now it's time for my coronation." Sam took one of my hands and Dani took the other as they started to lead me down the stairs. Everyone else followed behind us.

* * *

I was able to find my way around downstairs perfectly. The throne room was packed. Tuck, Cara, Jazz, and my parents all smiled at Danielle and I one last time before walking to the front of the room. Ghosts parted before the humans, knowing that they were my family. Clockwork swirled into existence right beside us. He held out an arm for the crowns.

"May I have them please Samantha?" She passed them to the ghost of time and he threaded them over his arm before turning to me. "Are you nervous Daniel?" I nodded and swallowed dryly.

"Extremely." My mentor chuckled.

"As you should be. If you're scared it means you care what happens. Samantha, why don't you go stand with the rest of your companions? We will see you very soon." Sam nodded and gave me another kiss, this one quick and pressed a kiss on Danielle's forehead.

"I'll be right up front and I'll see you both after. Love you."

"Love you." Danielle and I replied in unison as Sam started to walk off. I turned to Clockwork, the butterflies in my stomach doing gymnastics worthy of the Olympics. He sensed my nervousness and set a hand on my shoulder.

"Everything will be fine. Now let's go get you crowned, King Daniel."

* * *

When Clockwork floated over to the throne everyone parted, making an isle for Danielle and me to walk through. Danielle gripped my hand nervously. "You're going to go first, right?" I nodded and pressed a kiss on her forehead.

"That's right. All you're going to do is walk up to me. You're already a princess, Danielle, just breath."

Dani's glow brightened when I told her that she was already a princess. One of her hands reached over and rubbed her cast nervously. "What am I going to say?" She whispered.

"Whatever you think you need to say. Okay Dani?" She nodded and reached over to me, giving me a quick hug.

"I'm coming, you go first and I'll be there when you tell me to."

I pressed one more kiss on her forehead before walking between the ghosts. All eyes were on me, the boy who had defeated Pariah twice. The boy who saved the worlds. The boy who was going to be their new king. I continued to walk confidently, a small smile on my face. I found myself reciting constellations in my head to keep calm. Every step meant I was closer to new responsibility. Finally I was in front of Clockwork. His eyes were unreadable but he did have a small smile on his face. I knelt down on one knee, my head bowed. Clockwork's voice rang out through the Zone, I didn't doubt what we said was going to be heard everywhere in this world.

* * *

"Do you, Daniel Matthew Fenton/Phantom, bane of Pariah, Father of Danielle Fenton/Phantom, accept the throne of the Ghost Zone with all of responsibilities?" I took a deep breath before speaking, my voice just as loud as Clockwork's.

"I, Daniel Matthew Fenton/Phantom, Bane of Pariah, Father of Danielle Fenton/Phantom, accept the throne of the Ghost Zone and all of its responsibilities. I will work to undo the damage done by the Observants and Pariah. After the Zone is restored to the way it was before their reign I will do my best to lead us forwards into a new age of peace and safety. I swear it on my life and afterlife."

Clockwork took my crown off of his arm and set it on my head, returning the dizzying power to me. I turned slightly so that I could see Danielle. She had clenched her teeth, an expression that screamed determination on her face. I beckoned her forwards with my hand and she floated forward. She was beside me in seconds.

Dani tried to kneel on one leg like I was but fell, her casts making things much more difficult. I caught her and gave her a moment to recover. Her face was flushed with a dark green. "Both knees Danielle," I whispered, "it'll be easier."

The girl found her way down to both knees, one hand still in mine. I glanced up at Clockwork, nodding for him to continue. He nodded and crouched down a bit.

"Do you, Danielle Cendrine Fenton/Phantom, Phoenix, Daughter of Daniel Fenton/Phantom and Samantha Manson, accept the title princess and pledge to help others in the Zone and assist your father when needed?"

Dani took a shaky breath before speaking. "I, Danielle Cendrine Fenton/Phantom, Phoenix, Daughter of Daniel Fenton/Phantom and Samantha Manson, accept the title princess. I pledge to help other in the Zone and assist my father when needed. I swear it on my life and afterlife."

Clockwork set Dani's crown back on her head. "Rise, King Daniel and Princess Danielle, take part of the celebration in your honor. Long live the king and the princess."

"LONG LIVE THE KING AND THE PRINCESS!" The crowd screamed, I could pick out the voices of my family in the cry. People started flooding to another room in my downstairs. I sighed, confused.

"Well where is everyone going now?"

* * *

**:D Until next time Peeps!**


	24. Twenty Four: Small Hours

**Uh, hi? I missed an update. Sorry about that folks. Summer's always majorly busy for me so I can't really promise when I'll get the next chapter out. THIS WAS SO HARD TO WRITE! It took me forever. I had written the second half of this chapter in Danny's POV but he and Sam think differently so I can't just copy it! ARGH! In other news my birthday's coming up :P Later Phans. See you soon!**

***WARNING! LOTS OF SWEARING***

**Extra Disclaimer: I don't own the song Little Wonders by Rob Thomas! It belongs to Rob Thomas!**

**Sam's POV**

As soon as everyone started flooding out of the throne room Danny's face screwed up. When he spoke his voice was at a normal volume. "Well where is everyone going now?" Danielle laughed and grabbed Danny's hand. She pulled him over to the group of humans that had been waiting for them.

"Daddy, it's our house. Just follow them." Danny let go of Danielle's hand. He walked over to me and wrapped one arm around my waist.

"Why don't you go on without us Danielle? We'll be there in a minute." Dani tugged on one of the sleeves on her dress as she gave Danny puppy-dog eyes.

"Can I bring Aqua down?" The elder of the hybrids sighed, a smile on his face.

"Only is she stays with you. I don't want her scaring anyone." The little princess nodded.

"I'll see you guys in a few minutes." She flew off to her room to grab her dragon and Danny gave me a quick squeeze.

"We did it." He murmured, his mouth by my ear. I shook my head, pressing a kiss on his cheek.

"I didn't have any doubts that the two of you would be able to. Are you going to come and see what everyone is doing now?"

Danny shrugged. "I guess." He moved his hand to mine, squeezing gently. He smiled shyly at his family. "Ta-da?"

Tucker laughed loudly, giving Danny a one armed guy hug. "Yeah. Ta-Da. Good job Bro, you sounded like somebody from a history book."

Jazz reached over and gave her little brother a hug. "Good job. I don't know why you were so freaked out about this Danny. It took, what? Ten minutes?" The hybrid shrugged.

"Yeah. It was more about the fact that it was a confirmation of huge amounts of power and responsibility that the fact the even itself." Cara glanced at Danny and threw her arms in the air.

"What the hay. If we're all hugging then count me in. Come here Danny." She opened her arms and Danny gave her a quick squeeze.

His Dad had just released him from a crushing bear hug when his head tilted like a confused puppy. A groan left the young man's mouth as he started to walk out of the throne room and to the other ghosts. "What the frick are they doing with music?"

Danny stood in the doorway of a room I didn't even know was down here. It was a ballroom, complete with a glowing ball of energy where a chandelier should have been. Surprisingly, nobody was dancing yet. I had a hand over my mouth to stifle the uncharacteristic giggles that I had realized where coming from me. "How the hell did I not know that there was going to be a dance and meal after this? I'm pretty sure I should know when things are happening at my own home."

I grabbed Danny's arm and pulled him into the room. I scanned the area for familiar faces. Danielle was talking with Missy, Aqua on her shoulder. "You didn't set it up Glowstick," I reminded him, "let's just roll with it."

* * *

Roll with it we did. The humans found their way through the ghost. We knew barely anyone here so a lot of our time was spent with introductions. Maddie seemed to be hitting it off with Dora and Jack was talking with Technus about technology. Tuck was chatting with a ghost that looked like he was made out of a pork chop and Caroline was talking with a girl that looked like a cadaver, her body sewn together with black thread. For some reason, I wasn't allowed to talk with one person for more than five minutes. As soon small talk finished, someone else pulled me away. The same thing seemed to be happening to Danny.

Sometime around five, we were pulled away from the guests and to the front of the room. A microphone was handed to Danny and he looked at it with confusion. "I didn't even know that this party was going to be happening. I don't have any speech prepared." The ghosts started chanting for a speech and Danielle set a hand on her Dad's arm.

"Take your own advice, just speak what you think needs to be said." She whispered.

Danny reached one of his hands to the back of his neck nervously and blushed a dark green.

"I know that I'm not quite one of you yet, and that I'm on thin ice with at least a hundred of you for the sole fact that I'm human, but I do want to try to do my best and do things right." He glanced over at me and over to Danielle where she was floating in the back with Missy. "I still do have human ties and I have no intention of cutting them off. Whether you like it or not I was born a human and haven't died the rest of the way yet. I still have a human life ahead of me before I really start my afterlife. I'm going to start a board, a team of people to run things while I continue being Phantom in the human world and live my life."

A small chuckle left his lips as he started to wrap up his little speech. "I guess my big thing to say as I send you all to your meal is thanks for not trying to overthrow me. I already had that happen once this week and it's not something that I would like to repeat. Let's eat and get on with the night I guess."

People rushed to a large banquet table that seemed almost endless. Danny set at the head, Danielle and I beside him. To avoid a fight on who got to sit at the other end of the table, Tuck took one for the team and sat down there. The food came from not just different parts of the world, but also different times. I was eating phyllo, a traditional Greek dish. Danielle seemed to really enjoy the knoephla, little dumplings in broth. For some reason I thought that it was German. We ate and talked for half an hour each before Clockwork pulled Danny to the middle of the dance floor by his ear.

* * *

"Ow! Clockwork! What the hell! This isn't your tower, we're in my lair. I can swear as damn much as I like! Let go of my flipping ear!" The ghost finally let go of him and hushed Danny as they started a private conversation. Danielle moved to her Daddy's chair so she was sitting by me as we watched the two ghosts. Danny flushed muddy green all over his face and a hand went to his teeth. Dani giggled.

"They're talking about what happens when you're a mature ghost. Watch. Daddy's going to go even darker now." I turned back to Danny just as his face turned emerald. He folded his arms and looked at anything but the ghost in front of him. A hand snaked up to his teeth and he groaned. Danielle giggled again and I turned my attention to her.

"And why, Danielle Cendrine, do you know about what happens to mature ghosts before your Daddy does?" The little hybrid shrugged.

"I was on the streets in both the Zone and the Human realm for a while. I asked questions and Ember was the only one who answered them. She's kind of a friend I guess." I reached over and ruffled her hair up as dress shoes clipped on the floor behind us. I turned and saw that Danny was standing behind me. He was much less flushed there but he was still tinged a slight green. The newly crowned king of the ghosts held out a hand to me.

"It's apparently my job to start the dancing. Will you be my partner Shade?"

I took his offered hand and stood, pressing a kiss on Danielle's forehead as I did so. I sent her a quick glance and she waved me off. She would be fine. A smile graced my lips as I kicked my shoes off, leaving me barefoot. "I'd like that Danny. Let's dance."

* * *

Danny walked me to the middle of the floor and closed his eyes. "Do you have a music request Sam?" I didn't so Danny picked something random. Danny blinked and the song started. His arms wrapped around my waist and mine snaked around his neck.

"So." I started slyly, "what was Clockwork talking about?"

Danny flushed and the cold around him grew icy. "Weird ghost stuff. Weird stuff like what I'm supposed to do with my fangs." I laughed.

"Fangs Danny? I haven't seen any fangs on you yet." He rolled his eyes before opening his mouth. With a sharp breath his canines grew about twice their size into sharp white fangs. I tapped one of them with the tip of my finger and Danny gasped before shrinking his teeth.

"That wasn't pleasant Sam. They aren't normal teeth." I stood on my tiptoes so my nose was just a bit lower than Danny's. He leaned down and the tip of his nose touched mine. I whispered softly and Danny started to glow brighter.

"Let's see if you can still kiss with them Your Highness." I didn't give him time to respond as I crashed my lips against his. His tongue danced with mine for a minute before I needed more air. Danny chuckled softly as me we slow danced.

"I think I can still kiss." I nodded, my tongue slightly numb from how cold he was.

"Yeah. You've passed the test." The song ended as Danny spun me in a circle. I sighed. "You should probably go dance with somebody else, shouldn't you?" Danny glanced over at the table, a smile crossed his face.

"Yep. I'll be back for you in a song. Why don't I walk you back to your seat?" I raised my eyebrows. I was perfectly capable of walking back to the table by myself, despite the fact that I had surgery on my leg a couple of days ago. I sat down and Danny held out an arm for the little girl sitting at the table's head. "Can I have a dance with my Little Girl?"

Danielle's glow flared. A huge smile appeared on her lips. "Really Daddy?" Danny chuckled.

"Really Danielle. You'll have to float but I'd still like to dance with my Ghosty." Dani launched herself in the air and gave Danny a quick squeeze before floating about six inches off the ground.

"Let's go Daddy.

* * *

Danny led Danielle forwards onto the floor, showing her how to do a couple of steps before choosing a song mentally. Dani's face screwed up in confusion as the unknown song reached her ears. Danny set a hand on her lips and started to dance with her, singing along with the song as they danced.

_Let it go, let it roll right off your shoulders_

_Don't you know the hardest part is over?_

_Let it in, let your clarity define you_

_In the end we will only just remember how it feels_

_Our lives are made in these small hours_

_These little wonders, these twists and turns of fate_

_Time falls away but these small hours_

_These small hours still remain_

_Let it slide, let your troubles fall behind you_

_Let it shine until you feel it all around you_

_And I don't mind if it's me you need to turn to_

_We'll get by, it's the heart that really matters in the end_

_Our lives are made in these small hours_

_These little wonders, these twists and turns of fate_

_Time falls away but these small hours_

_These small hours still remain_

_All of my regret will wash away somehow_

_But I cannot forget the way I feel right now_

_In these small hours_

_These little wonders, these twists and turns of fate_

_Yeah, these twists and turns of fate!_

_Time falls away, yeah but these small hours_

_And these small hours still remain, yeah_

_Ooh they still remain_

_These little wonders, oh these twists and turns of fate_

_Time falls away but these small hours_

_These little wonders still remain_

They were having a blast and every thirty seconds Danny spun Danielle, making her squeal in delight. I laughed out loud and walked down the length of the table to the rest of the humans in our group. They were all watching the Phantom and his little Phoenix. "Hey Tucker? You recording this?"

The man chuckled softly. "Sam. I've been recording since he started dancing with you. I'll email you the footage." I smiled as the song ended and Danny spun Danielle one last time before she laughed and launched her arms around her Daddy's neck.

"That would be wonderful Tucker."

* * *

The rest of the night was full of dancing, snacking, and getting to know new ghosts. Danny and I sent Danielle upstairs to her room with Missy so they could both sleep around ten. Missy was still so young that she had a human sleep schedule. Tucker, Cara, Jazz, and my folks went to go sleep at around eleven but Danny and I were down stairs until One AM when the last ghosts left. Aleece carefully took her sleeping daughter home with her. Cujo never left, curling up on Danny's and my bed. I could tell that his sleep schedule would be like that of a normal dog for the sole fact that she was asleep. Danny and I trudged up the stairs and fell into bed without changing from our dress clothes into pajamas. I woke up to a little girl jumping on top of us. "Mom! Daddy! There's school! What should I do?"

I sat up and rubbed my eyes with the heels of my palms. Danielle was standing beside the bed in her pajamas, eyes wide with fear. "Just go get dressed like normal Ghosty." I instructed as I stifled a yawn. "Daddy and I'll be out in a minute. Go eat some breakfast with Aunt Cara and Uncle Tuck." The girl pressed a quick kiss to my cheek before flying through the door.

Danny sat up with a groan. "It's morning. Damn mornings." I chuckled and walked over to the closet, not shutting the door.

"Get your ass out of bed Danny."

"Sam, why?"

"I'm getting dressed Danny." His eyes lurched open and he climbed out of bed, stumbling on the sheets. He walked into the closet like he had meant to fall on his face.

"I'm awake."

* * *

We were all just outside of Casper. Cara was standing by just in case Danielle roughed herself up by tripping on her casts. Dani insisted we walk to school today. Not teleporting, no flying, walking. She was standing in front of the doors rubbing her cast. "They can't hurt me." She whispered to herself. I nodded.

"Let's go inside Danielle. You've gone through Pariah Dark. You can deal with high school." Dani opened the door with a sigh.

"I'm starting to think that high school's worse than any ghost."

There was no doubt that the Casper High teenagers had been waiting for Team Phantom to walk through the doors. Most of them were just staring at us with wide mouths. A couple smiled when they saw that Danielle was holding my hand like it was normal, it was nothing to be ashamed of to hold your Mom's hand in public. There was a group of twenty or so freshman and maybe fifteen seniors, who looked ready to kill. Paulina was at the front of the group, thriving in the feeling of power because she was able to get others to follow her lead. "Oh look." She sneered. "It's the slutty asshats and their little bastard!"

Tucker had been waiting for somebody to say something. He stood in front of Danielle, flipped Paulina off, and our group walked down to the freshman lockers. Danielle continued to rub her cast, she had slid it under her hoodie and her leg cast under her jeans so that nobody would question her about them. "This is going to be the day from hell." Dani murmured.

"Language Danielle." Danny reminded her as he set a hand on her shoulder. She sighed.

"Sorry Daddy." Her eyes flickered around the hallway and a small smile flew to her lips. "It feels good to say that without hiding it." I leaned down and pressed a kiss on the top of her head.

"It feels good to say that you're my baby girl without whispering too." We stopped in front of Danielle's locker to find that somebody had painted bastard on the locker in bright pink. My nose crinkled.

"Why would someone even fine that puke pink attractive?" I muttered as Danny froze it off of the locker. The paint shattered on the ground. Danielle pulled her books for her first class out of her book bag before putting the bag in the locker and shutting the door. I pained look was on her face, what people were going to say today was going to punch right through her defenses and hit her hard. Every time somebody called her a freak before was bad, now they would put other words like it behind them.

"Meet you right here for lunch?" Danielle asked. I nodded, pressing another kiss on the top of her head. Danny knelt down and gave her a hug.

"We'll be right here waiting for you." A ghost of a smile found its way to Danielle's lips as she turned and made her way to homeroom.

* * *

"Hey Slut? Pass me a pen." Paulina demanded during English after Lancer left to go grab a piece of paper from the office. The room's temperature dropped a good ten degrees and I set a hand on Danny's knee to calm him.

"Go get one from your airhead followers Paulina." She pursed her cotton candy lips.

"I would, but they only brought one each. You should just share with Danny and hand me your pen Slut." A growl came from Danny and I could see his fangs through his parted lips. Cara was taking a spare pen out of her rocket sneakers (why did she keep pens in her shoe) and passed it to Tucker. He took aim and threw it at Paulina, nailing her in the eye. I laughed before speaking.

"It looks like you have a pen now. Go away." She huffed and turned to her clique, Star was already handing her a sparkly eye patch to cover her red eye.

"I'll just have to crush your Freak Bastard then." She hissed. That was it for Danny. His eyes were solid green and his fangs were very visible. We stood at the same time.

"Take it back." He growled. Paulina took a step back from Danny, scared of the enraged halfa. The only other sign that she was terrified was her eyes.

"Why would I? She's a little freak. She's not physically possible. She's a monster." Danny's left hand started to glow. The whole class was watching us fight now.

"She's not a freak! She's my daughter! NOW SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Mr. Lancer came back and started crossing the room when he saw Danny and me standing. I grabbed Danny's wrists.

"Take a breath Glowstick." I murmured. The glow in his left hand dissolved. "Good." I whispered. "Now sit down."

"No." He said lowly. His tone at me wasn't furious, he was just pissed in general.

"Daniel! Samantha! Paulina! What in the name of The Secret Garden is going on?" Mr. Lancer demanded.

"Paulina promised to crush Danielle. Long story short, we're pissed." I hissed. Lancer's eyes narrowed.

"Detention Miss. Sanchez. Now that I have your quizzes let's get back to class." Danny glared at Paulina as he sat back in his seat. His fangs shrunk but his eyes stayed the radioactive green.

"I hate this." He muttered.

* * *

I was standing in front of Danielle's locker, leaning heavily on Danny. He was scanning through the crowd of freshman around us for Danielle. It wasn't hard to spot her.

The crowd parted before her like she was a disease. Most of the teens just stared at her but others were pointing at her as they snickered. Her eyes were glued to the floor and her hands were in the kangaroo pouch of her hoodie. It was obvious that it had been a rough morning. The ghost girl's eyes were full of unshed tears. "Hi Daddy, Mom, are you ready for lunch?" A lump formed in my throat at her voice. It was almost like she had been convinced that she was a freak.

I nodded and snagged Danielle's hand, squeezing gently. "Yeah Ghosty Baby, we're ready."

Danielle took Danny's other hand and started pulling us to the cafeteria. All of the freshman that littered the hall seemed to look at Danielle like she was a display. We crossed the hall to the cafeteria quickly. Danielle was so tired of being stared at. Dani took her good hand from mine and pushed to cafeteria door open. The tears that she had been working so hard to keep in check welled up in her eyes. "Well. This is the shit hitting the fan."

Danny and I didn't bother reprimanding her about her language. Our eyes were trained on the photos that had been spread all over the tables and on the floors. Almost every student was holding a sheet of paper. A doctored photograph.

Some of the pictures weren't too graphic. There were some of Danielle in a hospital gown, her hair clipped short like she was a cancer patient. There were tubes down her throat and one of her arms was incredibly pale, like it had just been reattached. Then there were some of Dani missing limbs, floating in a glass tube not unlike the one that she had been in for deicing in the far frozen. She was barely covered in a tank top and underwear, her body was covered in dark purple and green bruises. The picture that bothered me the most was one of Danielle with only a sheet over her body. Her face was melted and green, dripping onto what looked like a metal table. She only had an arm and was clawing at her face, awake and in agony as her other limbs were waiting to be attached. I gulped and hoped that Danielle couldn't hear me. The normal chatter of the lunchroom was louder than normal and the words "Fenton," "Danielle," "Phantom," "Freak," "Phoenix," and "Monster" were drumming against my ears as the students talked. Someone was always giggling.

Tommy Baxter turned from his normal table and sneered at us. "Hey everybody! It's the sluts and their little bastard!" Everyone turned and stared.

* * *

Danielle sighed and removed her injured hand from Danny's. She walked forwards with a calm confidence that you could only tell was forced if you knew her well. That meant that Danny and I were the only ones in the room that could tell. The girl picked several of the pictures up from the ground and tables. She flipped through them with an angry interest. Hurt flickered through her eyes for a fraction of a moment every few pictures that poked through her defenses. Dani floated up onto a table, making it look like she pushed herself up. She didn't want others to know that she was hurt. The pictures in her hands crunched as she put her hands on her hips. Everyone but Danny and I were looking at her with a mixture of fear and disgust.

"You know. Even though these photos are fake doesn't mean that things like this didn't happen to me." Danielle floated a few inches off of the table and her voice echoed slightly as she projected her voice with her powers. "All of you have been staring at me all morning long, too chicken to ask if the rumors about me were true. Now before I start to tell you what's true and what's not is anyone here under the impression that if they say something that offends me that they're going to get hurt?"

Hands went to the air, shaking with fear. Somebody with just a bit more courage than the others called out with a slight whimper in their voice. "We'll only listen if you and Danny don't use your powers."

Danny's eyes flashed out brightly, letting off a noticeable light. He was furious. Danielle on the other hand, seemed to be expecting this. She landed on the table and called out the last thing that I wanted to hear.

"Daddy, please, put your hands in your pockets." Pure disbelief washed over Danny as his mouth opened and closed like a fish.

"Danielle, I-" The girl cut him off, something that she almost never did. Her voice was firm and sharp, like a knife to my heart.

"Daddy! You graduate on Friday. I'm going to be doing this myself when you're in college this fall. I need to do this myself."

Danny was going to start to protest when I sent a quick glance at Danielle. She was struggling not to glow. She didn't want the afternoon to be like this morning had. She wanted them to understand. I set a hand on Danny's arm and my free hand slipped to my pocket and grabbed my cell. "Glowstick, hands in your pockets, only take them out if people start using violence."

Danny's face fell before he got his eureka moment. He saw my cell phone. His hands were shoved in his pockets. He called out with the voice he only used with Danielle. "Let me know if you need me Danielle."

She nodded at him and her confidence almost fell apart for a split second. Her act of confidence was on her face as quickly as it fell. I sent a 911 text to Cara and Tuck. Dani took a slow breath and started to talk.

* * *

"I'm going to give you the abridged version, the one the whole world is going to get soon. I was created in a lab, brainwashed to think that Vlad Masters was my father. He told me that I was his little girl when I reality I was just another failure he was going to melt down. I first met Daddy on a mission to get some of his mid-morph DNA even before the disasteroid. I thought Vlad wanted it to stabilize me but he really wanted it to stabilize the true clone of Danny. He helped me figure it out. Vlad intended to destroy me because I wasn't a clone of my Daddy. That's all he wanted. Daddy and I kicked Vlad's butt and my Mom and Uncle T came and saved the day when we were both wiped. I flew off and met Daddy again about six months later, I was falling apart."

Tears were sliding down my cheeks. I had heard the story before but Danielle's voice sounded shattered. Dani sucked in a deep breath before continuing. Danny tensed, ready to run to Danielle. The hybrid princess started to speak again.

"Vlad never stabilized me. Without being stable every time I used my powers my core would get a bit less stable. Being a little girl who thought she had no family and was living on the streets, I needed those powers. Without them I would have been all the way dead. I tried to get back to Daddy but the Red Huntress caught me. I was tricked into leading her to Daddy. She trapped him and delivered me to Vlad because she was still under the impression that he was good. He strapped me to a table and melted me down. Daddy saved me at the last minute but I was almost gone. I flew out of my own goop." Danielle turned to Danny and I, her lip was bleeding from how tightly she was biting it.

"Daddy, Help me." She begged. Danny ran. He was in front of the table Dani was standing on in an instant, wrapping her in his arms as she broke down.

"You need to finish." She gasped through her sobs. "I-I just can't." Danny whispered comforting words to her as he held her and rubbed her back.

"It's okay Dani, you did good. You did so good. Go to Mom, I'll finish."

Danielle stumbled as her bad foot hit the ground before running to me. I caught her in my arms and held her tightly. She sobbed loudly into me as I picked her up and started to stroke her hair. She was mumbling about not letting her go back to Vlad. She didn't want to fall apart again. "Shh." I whispered as I comforted her. "It's okay Danielle. He's never going to get you again. I've got you. Mom's got you."

* * *

Somehow I was able to hear what was happening over Danielle's sobbing. Everyone but a single person was silent. Tommy called out in a slight amount of shock. Danielle was known through Casper as the loud, goofy, excited girl. Now she was falling apart in her Mom's arms. "Hands in your pocket then talk."

Danny's voice was dripping with venom when he spoke. "Danielle went back on her own after that. As soon as the world knew that I was Danny Phantom I went off to look for her. I found her in Tokyo. She was cold, and malnourished, and scared. I brought her home. The three of us only found out that we were family a few weeks ago. I was looking at Vlad's files because Dani wasn't growing. When Vlad stole my DNA he found out that it was more than my DNA he stole. The shirt he had stolen the DNA off of had both Sam's and my hair on it. He took the hair and effectively gave Danielle two parents. Just some food for thought, Dani isn't impossible. Vlad speed her growth before he stalled it. Danielle is only three years old. You have been bullying a child and she is one. She only lets herself act her age around her family but Danielle is very much my little girl. She likes princesses and happily ever afters and cats and has nightmares all of the time because of what you tried to recreate in the photos you were all laughing at."

The door into the cafeteria slammed open and Lancer ran through. The frantic look on the teacher's face showed that he was not expecting to find Phantom with his hands in his pockets, Phoenix sobbing, and seventy 9th graders staring at their hands in shame. Cara and Tucker didn't wait for an explanation when they heard Danielle sobbing. They jogged over to Dani and me and stood next to us as they rubbed Dani's back.

Lancer must have sent Danny a questioning look because he spoke again. "They seemed to think that Dani being created by Vlad was funny. She told them her story and fell to pieces when she finished telling them about being melted. They don't think it's funny anymore."

William Lancer snarled. "Freshman sit down now!" Chairs scrapped against the floor and there was a loud thump as the students sat. Mr. Lancer's voice softened. "You and your family head to the office and calm Danielle down Daniel. Take Tucker and Caroline with you. I'll send lunch for you, Samantha, and Danielle soon."

Danny ran to the group as soon as the words were of Lancer's mouth. He wrapped his arms around us and teleported us out of that damned cafeteria.

* * *

We landed in the teacher's lounge. Danielle untangled herself from me and wrapped her arms around Danny, clinging to him for dear life. "Daddy, it hurts so badly. Make it stop."

A look of pure anguish appeared in Danny's eyes. "I'm sorry Dani. Some things are just painful."

Danny carefully sat the two of them down on the floor and I sat down beside them, rubbing Danielle's back. He started to sing softy to her, just like he sang to her last night.

_Let it slide, let your troubles fall behind you_

_Let it shine until you feel it all around you_

_And I don't mind if it's me you need to turn to_

_We'll get by, it's the heart that really matters in the end_

Danielle curled up on Danny's lap. She set her head against his chest as her tears started to slow and she sang in a whisper with Danny.

_Our lives are made in these small hours_

_These little wonders, these twists and turns of fate_

_Time falls away but these small hours_

_These small hours still remain_


	25. Twenty Five: Courage Phantoms and Foley

**Hola! I don't wanna write a note tonight! Bah. Here's the chapter. I have a plan for the rest of the book, no worries. Once again I'm not making any promises on when the next chapter comes out. Urgh! I started this chapter last night and it's so long. It didn't want so end so I just smashed it off. I want reviews for this peeps! On to the story!**

* * *

**Danny's POV**

After Dani's outburst over lunch, people were surprised to see her back in class the second period after lunch. She wasn't even late. The girl just showed up, set her books down, and sat down at the table in the lab. She was sitting straight and confident. The look on Tommy Baxter's face was priceless when Dani flipped him off before returning to doodling in her little red sketchbook. Every few minutes she would glance over at where she knew I was floating, a ghost of a smile on her lips. I made a mental note to thank Lancer for letting me skip the rest of the afternoon to watch Dani. I laughed softly when the boy who had been hitting on her last week walked over and apologized for hitting on her. His face was cherry red as Danielle threw back her head and laughed before telling him that it wasn't a problem and she was a flattered. I was kind of excited to see how Danielle did during chemistry. I was pretty good at it and so was Sam, my mom was a scientist before she was a ghost hunter. I wanted to see if Dani got the science spark too.

"Can anyone tell me what chemicals you would combine to start a fire? It's okay if you just guess, this isn't something you've learned this year." The substitute chemistry teacher said to the class with a sugar sweet smile. Dani raised her hand with a cheeky grin as she noticed that she was the only one with a hand up. The teacher called on her with a slight laugh.

"What do you think Ms. Fenton? Can you think of any chemical mixtures?"

Danielle crossed her arms on top of her books. "Uh huh, several actually. You could mix potassium permanganate, glycerin, and water. Then again, sodium chlorite, sugar, and sulfuric acid would work just as well too. If you wanted to get really fancy and color the fire after it was going you could add borax or copper chloride. They would color the fire green and blue respectively."

Everyone stared at her for a split second before Tommy spoke. For once there wasn't an insult on his tongue. "How the hell did you know that Phoenix?"

* * *

She brightened at the use of  
her hero name. "I come from a family of science geeks. My daddy was going to be an astronaut before he got his powers. He's always been really good at math and science. He just never had the time to do any homework after he got his powers. There's also the little fact that my Grandma Mads is a famous scientist and my special skill as a halfa is fire. I asked Grandma Mads lots of questions when I woke up after the fight."

The sub walked around and gathered the chemicals that Danielle had just said as she and the class talked with Danielle. Lacy, The girl that abandoned Dani as a friend when the A list called, set a hand on Dani's good hand from where she was sitting beside her. "You mean after the fight with Pariah? Why'd you need to wake up? Did you pass out or something? Your Dad was panicking when he got to the safe dome."

Danielle glanced at the ground, deliberately not looking over to me. "Yeah. I did. Daddy had a reason to panic. I got whipped. The only reason Mom was able to get me out of that stupid cage was because my special skill kicked in. From what Daddy and I've seen special skills only kick in when we're in really huge danger. After the flames kicked in and Mom pulled me out of the cage I was wiped. Daddy's battle with Pariah only lasted a couple more minutes after he saw how beat up I was. It's nothing that won't heal though. No big deal."

Lacy's eyes narrowed and I realized that maybe she really was one of Dani's friends. I had jumped to the A-list when I got the chance when I was her age. Maybe, she had snapped out of it. They probably wouldn't get super close but maybe they could be good friends. "How'd you get hurt Danielle?"

Dani glanced over at where she knew I was. She wasn't asking for help yet, she just wanted to know that she had somebody behind her. I blew an ice crystal in the shape of a Halloween ghost at her and it landed softly on the table in front of Danielle. She snatched it up and held it in her hand, the cool comforting her fingers just like it did any ghost with an ice core. She smiled sadly.

"I broke a couple of bones. Bruised some ribs. I'm covered in bruises and cuts because my powers are focusing on my broken bones. My aunties were pretty thorough with their clean up so there wasn't any ectoranium poisoning so that's good." Lacy was horrified. All of the students were staring at her, not because they thought she was a freak but because they were surprised somebody that small could take a beating. The teacher had stopped looking for chemicals to make fires and had a handful of chemicals that would change fire colors. She was leaning against the wall as she listened to the students. It was a smart move. If she started asking questions I didn't doubt that Dani would close up.

* * *

Lacy stood up and tugged Danielle's hoodie off. Dani flickered out of visibility. "Danielle!" Lacy groaned as I floated over to Danielle. I canceled the smaller halfa's powers out with mine. Dani squeaked.

"Daddy!" I hadn't turned visible, I just pressed a kiss on her forehead as she tried to battle my powers even though she knew I was stronger. She finally gave up and looked at the other students. They weren't frowning at her or calling names like they had this morning when they thought that she was an experiment, not a person. Instead they eyed her arm sadly. Danielle bit her lip and lifted her pant leg up to reveal the bright blue cast. She then set her hands on the hem of her tank top and lifted it up so that you could see the discoloration on her side. Seeing her bare stomach sent a wash of relief just like it did every time I saw it. She wasn't as scarred as me. Yet.

Danielle tossed her arms around me, completely throwing the fact that I was invisible to the wind. Her eyes clenched shut as I turned visible. I didn't doubt that she was expecting sharp words to sting her like they had this morning. Instead, Lacy started to clap. She sent death glares around the room before her twin started clapping with her. There were three or four more people clapping before Tommy started clapping. He met my eyes, genuine regret running through them when he realized that the small girl he had been picking on to make himself feel better had a harder life than he did. I sent him a look telling him I would talk with him later. As soon as he started clapping the rest of the class followed.

Very carefully, Danielle turned from where she had buried her face in my tee shirt. She smiled shyly at the group of her classmates. It was a mere thirty out of the two hundred but that was still something. She held her hands out shyly after she dropped her shirt and pulled her pants leg down. "So," she said quietly, "who wants to throw chemicals on my flaming fingers to see if they'll change colors?" Hands went up and Danielle grinned as her hands caught fire. "Perfect."

* * *

The rest of the school day passed without any issues. Every class that Lacy was in, she demanded a standing ovation for Danielle. In every class Danielle blushed bright red as people clapped for her. By the end of the day she was smiling shyly. The words that had been said this morning weren't gone, they hadn't disappeared, and they still hurt but that didn't mean that apologies didn't help. Danielle and I met the rest of the group in front of Tucker and Cara's lockers. Cara gave Dani a one armed squeeze as we waited for Sam.

The Goth beauty ran down the hall with two back packs slung over her shoulders. She pulled Danielle into a hug before pressing a kiss on the girl's forehead. She looked in her eyes for a moment before smiling. "I'd say the afternoon was much better than the morning?"

Dani nodded and blushed. "I got a standing ovation in every class. Lacy told me that she was sorry between classes and asked me to give her another chance at being my friend. And Tommy didn't pick on me. It was a very good afternoon. Are you, Auntie, and I going to have that girls afternoon like we had planned?"

Cara laughed, tossing her arm around her niece's shoulders and giving her a quick squeeze before letting go. "Chill Ghosty. The three of us are going to head to the book store."

Caroline pressed a gentle kiss to Tucker's lips. "We'll be at the lair after dinner. Later Babe."

Tuck gave her a short kiss back. "Awesome. We'll see you then. I think that we have some guy stuff to do anyways." Cara walked to the car with Dani. She sent me a look and wiggled her eyebrows before she left the hall. I have no idea why she did that. Sam wrapped her arms around my neck for a moment as I wrapped lips in mine. Her hair was silky underneath my fingers. She smelled like mint and chocolate.

We pulled apart and chuckled as Tucker pretended to vomit. Sam pecked my lips one more time.

"See you back at the lair Glowstick." I smiled.

"I will. Love you." Sam rolled her eyes as Tuck continued to ask like a four year old.

"Love you too Danny." She walked off down the hall and out the door as I elbowed Tucker in the ribs.

* * *

"Do you have to be so immature?" I groaned as my best friend grinned.

"Hell Yeah. Where are we going first D?" My fangs grew without my permeation and I swore.

"Fuck these!" I hissed as I tried to shrink them again. Tucker laughed at my problem.

"What's the problem Danny?" He asked innocently. I glared at him.

"Emotion makes my fangs come out. I was nervous and here they are!" A hand reached out from behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. I tensed and turned slowly. Tommy was standing behind me with a backpack slung over his shoulder. Dash was standing behind him with a hand on his brother's shoulder. I was finally able to shrink the fangs as I turned to him.

"You kind of told me that you would talk with me." I nodded to Tommy first and then to Dash.

"Do you want to come with Dash? I wouldn't mind talking to you about this either." The jock shrugged. Tuck set a hand on my shoulder.

"I'd like to sit in on this. If you don't mind." I shrugged and opened a portal to the lair. Tommy's jaw dropped and I realized that he had never watch me fight. Dash kept him away from the fights.

"It's just a portal to my place," I assured him. "You'll be perfectly safe. I just thought that it would be a bit quieter there. I can drop you guys back in the human world when we're done talking." The teen nodded slowly and watched Tuck walk through the portal before following him. Dash seemed to be waiting for me to go in first. I rolled my eyes. "I'll have to close it behind me." I explained. The man rolled his eyes before stepping into the portal. I followed, gripping the edges of reality closed behind me.

Tommy was standing with his jaw on the floor as Tuck walked over to his room, changing into a tee shirt before coming back. Even Dash looked impressed.

"Nice place Geek." He muttered. I shrugged, wincing when I moved my bad shoulder the wrong way. Re-growing bone took a while.

* * *

"Thanks Dash. So, Tommy. Did you doctor those pictures of my baby girl?" Fear made him shrink back where he was sitting on the couch.

"Some of them. I didn't really want her to panic like she did I just wanted her to feel like I did when she pretended she knew my sister. Everyone in my family but Dash died that night and nobody talks about Marcie. If they do I bite back. I was only messing with her before because she was small and wouldn't fight back. I would have stopped in another couple of weeks." I sighed as I called out.

"Hey Marcie? We have company." The ghost girl flew through the kitchen door and wiped some flour on her dress. Her face was dusted in the same white powder.

"What do you mean Master Danie-" She stopped short when she saw the two blonde boys in the room. "Tommy! Dash!" She screamed as she flew over at lightning speed, wrapping her arms around her big brother. Tears were in the boy's eyes as he hugged his dead sister.

"Marcie." Tommy gasped as his arms wrapped around the girl. "You got so big." Dash walked over and scooped both of his siblings up into a hug. Marcie started to giggle and it was infectious. Soon everyone in the room, even Tuck and I, were laughing.

"So." Marcie started happily. "Did you get my message from Danielle?" Tommy's face fell slack.

"Yeah." he said in a slightly haunted voice. "I did. I missed you a lot Mar. Have you seen Mom and Dad?" The ghost nodded.

"I have. They miss you and Dash but they're doing pretty good. They watch over you when they can. So do I. I got a job at the Fenton/Phantom's place. It's lots of fun and Danielle's one of my friends." Tommy seemed to pale a bit more at that.

"How often do you see Phoenix? Like are you two close or something?" Marcie nodded.

"Yeah. We play in her room after school all the time, ever since she moved in. I bring her hot cocoa at night after her nightmares too. It helps her calm down. On the day that I slept she let me sleep in her room so that nobody would bother me. I think that's how it's going to be from now on. I think that she's my best friend." Tommy seemed to be choking on air as his sister frowned at him. "Why did you hit her? She came home with a bruise the day that she gave you my message."

Tommy shifted. "I thought that she was lying," He murmured. "I didn't even think that she was a Phantom, or I guess The Phoenix now. I didn't think that you would have an obsession to make you a ghost."

Marcie rolled her eyes. "Tom. You only need an obsession if you're a haunter. You know, if you go into the real world? This is the underworld, the land of the dead. If I stay here I won't fade, that's why I didn't come to see you myself."

* * *

I sat down as Tommy paled even more. My bandages pulled and I winced, a slight groan leaving my lips. Marcie jumped up from where she was sitting and few over to me. She fazed my shirt off of me and did the same to my bandages. She bit her lip. "I'm not Ms. Caroline but I do know that this needs to be bandaged with clean bandages. Do you need some Ecto-Dejecto?" I shook my head.

"I'm maxed out Marcie but its fine. I'll bandage it myself. You go catch up with your brothers." Marcie shook her head and squealed.

"But Master Daniel, Her Ladyship would get angry! She would yell at you for being an idiot! I'll go grab the bandages." She zipped out of the room, leaving the Baxter boys staring at Tucker and me.

"You weren't lying." Dash breathed. "You really are the Phantom." I face palmed with my good hand.

"Well Duh! I always have been. You were just being stubborn in your idea that I was a nerd." Tommy hadn't said anything yet. He was staring at my shoulder, slightly green and dazed.

"I forced the daughter of the world's hero into a panic attack." He deadpanned. Tucker walked over and waved his hand in front of Tommy's face. The teen made no reaction.

"He's in shock. Do you have any ideas Danny?" I thought for a moment before whistling a loud, taxi cab whistle. Cujo came running from my room, straight through the wall. He skidded to a stop in front of me, wagging his little tail in excitement.

"Go like the little one Boy!" I instructed enthusiastically. Cujo pounced, covering Tommy in glowing dog slobber. It only took him a minute to snap out of it.

"Oh GROSS!" Tommy yelled. "Get the mutt off of me!" I whistled and Cujo came over and sat at my feet as I scratched him behind one ear.

"Sorry." I apologized. "You got kind of out of it." Tommy shook his head before whimpering.

"Please don't hurt me." He mumbled. I rolled my eyes and walked over to the trembling boy, smacking him on the back of the head. I was given a look of pure shock. I glared at him.

* * *

"I'm not going to hurt you but I will if you ever hurt Danielle again. There will not be enough of you to fill a matchbox. Then I will make your time in the Zone pure hell. I mean that for both of you!" Both of the boys nodded, eyes wide. I realized that my fangs had slid out again. I shrunk them quickly. Dash carefully stuck a hand out to me.

"I want to start over," he started slowly, "I've been an asshole." I looked at his hand carefully.

"I don't trust you." I said firmly. "You helped reveal Danielle. You took her only chance at a semi-normal life away from her." Dash nodded.

"I know. But I want to try to make things right." I continued looking at his hand. I grabbed his hand shook it carefully.

"You have a lot of work to do." I told him and Dash nodded.

"I know." I gritted my teeth but walked away for on them.

"You can catch up with your sister until five but then I need you to leave. I don't want either of you anywhere near my girls. Tucker and I are heading out." I pointed to the door to the lab. "There's the way to the real world. No wandering. If you wander then I'm not coming to find you."

The boys nodded as Marcie came flying. She bandaged me up quickly, hissing whenever I moved. "Master Daniel! Please stop moving!" I laughed softly.

"Marcie. Go talk with your brothers. I can wait until Cara gets back." The little ghost girl glared at me.

"Master Daniel. No." I held up my hands in surrender as she finished wrapping my shoulder. I pulled my shirt on and grabbed my wallet from thin air. I gestured to Tuck.

"Are you ready to go?" Tuck shrugged and I tossed him his wallet.

"Where are we going Dude?" I smiled, fangs showing.

"You'll see."

* * *

We left the Baxters in the lair. If we had a human home I might have been nervous that they would try to mess the place up but it was my lair. They couldn't do anything that I wouldn't allow. I teleported Tuck and me to an area of town that we didn't typically go to.

Tuck looked around and raised his eyebrows. "Why the hell are we in front of a jewelry store?"

I smiled nervously. "I'm getting something for each of the girls. I figured that you would want to get something for Cara."

A teasing smile snuck to Tucker's face. "You're thinking about getting Sam a ring, aren't you Danny?" I blushed a dark green.

"Maybe." Tuck seemed content with that answer.

"Cool. I can get Cara's then too." I shot him a surprised look.

"No kidding? You're popping the question? Do you have any idea on what she wants?" Tuck smiled softly as we walked through the door to the jewelry store.

"Yeah, I just hope that I have enough cash. How'd you raise the cash for Sam's ring and Dani's gift anyways?"

I blushed as I struggled to push my fangs back in. "I got a job. It was an overnight thing so that Sam wouldn't notice too much and they were flexible enough for catching ghosts." Tuck gestured for me to continue as we stood in the back of the line, a couple of people were ahead of us so we had a couple of minutes to talk.

I smirked. "I might have been a window washer for the past six months or so. I told Sam I was on patrol. It pays pretty well washing windows on the only skyscrapers in Amity. I even went out to Elmerton and Concord every once and a while." I paused for a moment before add an afterthought. "Concord is a lot bigger than I thought. There were more tall building there than in Amity."

* * *

Tucker laughed loudly. "You used your powers to wash windows? Even when you figured out that you could summon things in the lair?" I directed my gaze to the tile floor.

"It didn't feel right to just summon it. I wanted to work for it, kind of like how you worked for your cash." Tuck nodded as we stepped up the counter. There was a woman with dark brown hair and warm hazel eyes waiting for us, a smile on her face.

"Afternoon Mr. Mayor, Mr. Fenton, I'm Cathy. Are you looking for graduation gifts for your girlfriends?"

I shrugged, my cheeks were starting to turn pale green. "Not really, we're looking for engagement rings." Cathy nodded in understanding.

"Gotcha. Do you have any special gems you were thinking about or are you just thinking diamonds?" I nodded at the same time as Tucker.

"I was thinking emeralds. They're her birthstone." Tucker said slowly. Cathy nodded and pointed out the case of emerald jewelry before another salesperson came to help him. Tuck started looking and smiled softly as he started thinking about how they would look on Caroline's hand. Cathy set a hand on my arm.

"What about you Mr. Fenton? Any ideas for the lucky Miss Sam?" I bit my lip.

"Do you have any blue topaz? They're Sam's favorite." Cathy grinned.

"Of course we do. Follow me Mr. Fenton and remember that we could change the white diamonds out for black. From what I've seen of Miss. Sam on the news I think that it would be a good fit."

I let the saleswoman lead me to the blue topaz. I had never seen the gems before but now that I could it made me smile. They were almost exactly the same blue as my eyes. I smirked as scanned through the rings. I closed my eyes. What would look right on Sam's hand? It would have to be slim because her hands are so small. The class ring she was wearing now was almost too big. It couldn't have a bunch of cut outs on it because Sam doesn't care that she's wearing the ring, she just uses her hands like normal. She gets mud and blood on her hands all of the time.

* * *

I glanced at a silver ring that seemed to jump at me. It had three stones on it, a diamond surrounded by two topaz. All of the stones were the same size and shape, ovals. I pointed at it. "Can I look at that one?" I asked softly. Cathy opened the glass case and brought the ring out. I wanted to look at the inside of the ring. There was enough room to write "Sam" on the inside of the ring, a tribute to Sam's class ring.

"Whatcha thinking Mr. Fenton?" Cathy asked me softly. I licked my lips nervously.

"How much would the ring cost if you swapped out the white diamond for a black one?"

Cathy held her hand out for a ring and I handed to her. She looked at the inside. "Six hundred. It would be six hundred dollars Mr. Fenton."

A smile came to my face without permeation. "Do you have a size eight?" Cathy waved the ring.

"This one is Mr. Fenton." I nodded.

"If you can swap out the white with the black then I'll take it. I do also need on other thing with it though while I'm here."

Cathy smiled as she called one of her coworkers over. She handed him the ring and he walked into another room. "What else do you need Mr. Fenton?" I laughed softly.

"I need an amber necklace for my daughter." Cathy walked over to another case of jewelry, leaving me no choice but to follow.

"Do any of these jump at you?" I scanned the case with my eyes and grinned.

There was a swan made of yellow gold. The neck was curved so that the beak connected with the swan's body. Where the wing would have been was a dark red amber stone shaped like a tear drop. "The swan." I said decisively. It didn't matter if that swan cost as much as Sam's ring. It would be Danielle's. Cathy took it from the case and I nodded quickly before she wrapped it up.

"That one took a lot less time than the ring did." She noted as she set the swan and its golden chain in its box.

"Phoenix is much easier to shop for than Sam." I explained as her coworker came back with Sam's ring. He passed me the box and I opened it. There was a pitch black diamond sitting where the clear one had been. I set it back on the counter. "I'll take them both."

Cathy smiled as she picked the two boxes up. She was extremely perky, almost overly so. "Why don't you follow me to the registers then?"

* * *

She rang me up and I was holding a little bag with the two boxes as I waited for Tucker. He had almost picked something out. He finally picked something out. A rose gold ring with an emerald cut like a heart ringed by two diamonds. He smirked at the impatient groan I let out as he meandered over to me. "It took you long enough. Did you find what you were looking for?"

Tuck nodded. "Yeah. You?" I shook the bag I was holding.

"You're oblivious." I declared. Tuck punched me in the shoulder, my bad shoulder. I hissed. "And I hate you right now."

"Sorry." Tuck apologized. "I forgot. Anyways, do you want to head home and eat some barbecue or something after we hide these from the girls for now?"

I shrugged. "Sure. It'll be a while before the girls get back. They'll probably stay at the bookstore until they get kicked out."

Tuck snickered. "Why did we fall in love with Cara and Sam?" I shrugged before explaining it all in a sentence.

"Simple. They're smart, pretty, kick ass, and have boobs. It's not that hard to grasp."

Tucker burst out laughing. "Sam would kill you if she ever heard you say that." I shot him a look as we continued to walk to Fenton works, we could have teleported but walking gave us time to talk. We hadn't had I guy chat in weeks.

"She's never going hear it, is she Tucker?" The young man nodded.

"That's what the dude code is for Danny. Don't sweat it."

* * *

**Before I get harped on because they're 18 and getting rings remember that Sam and Danny are going to have a super long engagement. It doesn't really matter anyways because the team hasn't really been kids since Danny got his powers. Good night. I'm going to go grab some food. Rate and review, yada, yada, yada.**


	26. Twenty Six: Interrogation

_NO LINEBREAKS! I'M TOO LAZY TONIGHT!_

* * *

**Sam's POV**

I smashed my head against the lockers with a strangled groan. "I fucking hate Wednesdays." Tucker set a hand on my shoulder.

"Come on Sam," he soothed, "It really can't be that bad." I glared at the young man.

"My morning started with a pop quiz in history." I challenged as I sat on the floor. "After the pop quiz I went on to science, we were dissecting pigeons. After the pigeons I went to with lunch Danielle and Danny. There was chicken in a salad that was supposed to be vegetarian. Math had a really horrible substitute teacher and we missed the poetry in English because Technus came and tried to take over the world again. On top of all of that the stiches on my leg split! Now we need to clean me up so that we can go back to English class and try to work on the paper for the poetry I didn't even get to hear. As soon as school's done the team needs to head home and get dressed up almost as nicely as we were on Monday so we can go and do this stupid interview because Tiffany Snow demanded all of us come and if we don't the reporters will swarm us."

Tuck grimaced. "Okay. It really is that bad. I'll go grab a rag. Where did Cara and Danny go anyways?" I took a deep breath.

"Danny's shoulder started gushing halfway through the fight with Technus after he got a computer smashed against him. As soon as he landed he passed out and Cara pulled him away to fix him up. You were capping the thermos and digging your way out of the rubble." Tuck shrugged.

"I guess that makes sense. Stay right, here. I'll be right back." I rolled my eyes as he jogged down the hall.

"It's not like I'd get very far!"

I was left alone in the hall. I silently cursed my leg. Of course I had to get a bone rammed into my leg. I had to have surgery. I closed my eyes and smiled. It was Wednesday. There were two days left until graduation. Tomorrow was my last day of High School. I wouldn't be kissing Casper goodbye, it was still Dani's school but I would be a graduate though. That was something at least.

Tuck rushed back over to me and sat down, dabbing the blood running down my shin. "Sam?" He asked me softly. I nodded and hissed as he hit a tender spot.

"Yeah Tuck?" He licked his lips nervously.

"Has Cara said anything about breaking up with me or anything of the like?" I sat with my mouth agape before chuckling.

"Tuck, she loves you. You know how I feel about normal teens saying that they love each other but, you know." He nodded.

"We haven't been kids for a really long time. I just wanted to ask you. You're her sister, even if you only found out a while ago, you two have been sisters from the moment you met."

I furrowed my brow. "Why were you wondering?" Tuck shrugged as he pulled the wrapper off of a gauze pad.

"I just wanted to make sure I wasn't just in the clouds." I nodded, it was something that made sense.

"What about Danny?" I asked softly. Tucker laughed like I had said something mind-blowingly hilarious.

"You have no reason to worry. Ever. You're his obsession. I mean, sure, Cara, Jazz, his folks and I are too but to a lesser degree than you and Danielle. You two are his world, believe me. Danny's heart is yours." I nodded, letting go a breath that I hadn't know I was holding on to.

"Good." I whispered as Cara came down the hall with Danny gripping onto her arm so he wouldn't fall over.

"Whatcha talking about?" He said, he sounded a bit weaker than normal but otherwise fine. He was still drenched in blood though.

"Nothing Glowstick, just stalling for time as Tuck cleans me up." He glanced at my leg and sighed.

"Sorry. I should have been able to take him so much quicker, I mean, it's Technus for the sake of the realms!"

I grabbed his tee shirt and pulled him into a kiss. "Shut up. You're nervous so it's an off day. Besides, it's only my stiches that split, there's not that much blood anyways." He nodded and brushed one of my bangs out of my face before turning to Tucker.

"How bad is the damage Tuck?" The techno geek rolled his eyes.

"She's fine Danny. The stiches just pulled out before they were ready. With the crap that the four of us get into it's barely a blip on the register of injured. I'm almost done wrapping her up and then we can get back to English."

The bell rang and Tucker sighed, looking around at the chaos around us, the blood streaking the floor and the broken lockers and ceiling. "Scratch that. Then everyone can gape at us and all of our blood. What wing of the school are we in anyways? I didn't check on my way down here." I looked around and sighed when I saw a flash of green and purple stripes.

"We're in the freshman wing. I see Danielle." Tuck helped me up and passed me over to Danny, who was supporting almost half of my weight. A streak of raven hair flew in front of me before I was tackled.

"Mom!" Dani squealed. "Are you okay?" I nodded as I squeezed her back gently.

"We're all fine. We should probably head home so that we can was the blood off of us. Daddy and I looked like a wreck." Danny pressed his nose against my neck, making goose bumps run up and down my legs.

"I think that you're beautiful." He whispered before kissing my neck and standing up straight again. I shivered.

"Thanks Captain Flirt, Are you going to be able to open a portal or is Danielle going to try?" Danny sent me a look of mock shock.

"You doubt me and my magnificence? Of course I can open a portal. Give me a second." Danny flashed to Phantom and tightened his gloves. He found an opening and ripped a portal open. He gestured to the door with both hands. "Ta-Da!" The hybrid announced with a grin. I kissed him on the cheek.

"Good job. Everyone else head on in, Danny and I'll be right behind you." Cara wiggled her fingers before stepping through, Danielle right behind her. Tuck smirked and walked through after shooting Danny a knowing look.

"What was that for?" I murmured as Danny and I stepped through, the halfa clamped the edges of reality and pulled them back together before answering.

"Just a guy thing I talked about with Tucker. We agreed to hound each other as a twisted favor." I raised my eyebrows.

"Do I need to beat the crap out of somebody?" Danny chuckled.

"Nah, it's not anything like that. Let's go get ready." I snagged his arm as he started walking off.

"Wait a sec Danny, Guys, wait a second." Dani flew out of her bedroom and smiled. Tucker and Cara paused, each of them had a hand on their doorways.

"Yup. Whatcha need Mom?" I rolled my eyes.

"What is with the 'Whatcha's today? Anyways, I just thought because we all need to match and everyone's going to ask you a bunch of questions you could choose which color we all wore. Is everyone cool with that?" Tuck and Cara nodded and answered simultaneously.

"We're cool."

Danielle set her good hand on her chin for a moment before smiling gleefully. "Today, we will wear yellow!" She declared as she marched to her room in search of a dress. I groaned.

"Of course she chose the brightest, cheeriest, un-Goth color that ever existed. Let's go see if we can find something." I marched off to the bedroom, Danny chuckling behind me.

We cleaned the blood off first, helping each other as it wasn't as easy to scrap blood of something that you couldn't see. Danny pealed his shirt off and I stepped out of my black pants. We started attacking each other with warm, wet washcloths. "So." Danny started softly. "How much of the truth are we telling this time?" He asked, gentle fingers running across my skin.

I sighed. "We'll figure it out. The only big thing to keep from them now is the stuff in the Zone. We can do that, right?" Danny nodded, wincing as I ran over a sore spot.

"Yeah. Just like we always do. You should be good now. How's my shoulder?" I strapped a gauze pad to the wound and pressed a kiss on Danny's lips.

"You're perfect. Now let's go see if I can find something yellow that doesn't make me want to puke."

Danny laughed as we walked straight from the bathroom to the closet. Danny reached out to my side of the small room and glowed softly. His fingers caught yellow satin and he snagged it. He pulled a tank top dress out of the rack and held it out for me to see. It was sunshine yellow with a pitch black sash where my natural waist was. The skirt was still yellow but it had and overlaying skirt of black spider web lace. "What about this?" He asked softly. I pressed a kiss on his lips and tasted. They were oddly refreshing, almost minty.

"It's perfect. I'm going to go get dressed. You better be decent by the time I get back." Danny chuckled.

"Fine. Just go on and get changed." I walked out of the closet and into the bathroom. The lock clicked shut behind me. I slipped my shirt of and pulled the dress over the top of my head. The skirt just brushed my knees, something that didn't surprise me because Danny picked it out. I glanced at my leg and nodded to myself. My combat boots would cover it up. According to Will Carter those boots saved my lower leg. I smirked as I walked out of the room and knocked on the closet door.

"Can I come in?" I asked, a smile clear in my voice.

"I'm wearing pants, you're cool." I opened the door and flushed just slightly at the look the shirtless halfa was giving me. "You look beautiful Shade." I rolled my eyes and saw the yellow shirt in his hand.

"Thanks. Do you need help with that?" Danny handed me the shirt with a cross look on his face.

"Stupid shoulder." I buttoned the shirt quickly and grabbed a clean pair of socks and boots from my shelf. Danny had already slipped a pair of black sneakers on. "I'm not wearing dress shoes again this week." He informed me. "I will wear sneakers to graduation."

I laughed. "Okay Glowstick."

We got back to the living room and found Dani with her dragon of her lap. She was wearing a yellow tank top and a bright blue skirt. Her foot that wasn't in a cast was in a bright blue converse. "Can I take her with?" She begged. I nodded.

"Just keep her with you like you always do." Dani nodded and started stroking Aqua between the horns. Tuck and Cara opened their doors at the same time. Cara was wearing a pale yellow and pink dress while Tucker seemed to have settled for jeans and a dress shirt.

"Are we good to go?" Cara asked somewhat excitedly. Even with though she had been friends with us for years and part of the team for a good year and a half this was still her first time on television. Dani was still a bit nervous but everyone else was perfectly mellow. Danny nodded as he snaked an arm around my waist.

"Yeah. Do you want to teleport or fly?" Dani started jumping up and down. She mouthed "Pick Me" and startled her sleeping dragon. "Ghosty Girl." Danny said with a smile as Dani squealed.

"Can we teleport? Please can we teleport? Pretty please Daddy?" Danny glanced around at the rest of the crew.

"Anyone against it?" He asked. Silence was his answer. He shrugged. "Okay then. Everyone grab hold and hang on." The three other semi-humans jogged over and gripped either Danny or me. A cold chill swept through my body and we evaporated.

The landing at the station was easy. Getting away from the mob that surrounded us as soon as they saw us was not. Dani quickly found her way to Danny's shoulders. She assured us that yes, she was wearing a pair of shorts under her dress. Tiffany's assistant found her way to us as quickly as she could through the mob. "Team Phantom!" She called. "Miss Snow would like to see the five of you in the green room!"

Danielle turned us intangible before Danny could. The four adult all gripped wrists to continue the transfer of power. We walked through the door and Dani dropped the power. Tiffany was sitting waiting for us. She had a sugar sweet smile on her face and her clipboard in her hands.

"Hi! I'd kind of like to run through a few things before we go on, M'kay?" She didn't wait for us to respond before talking again. "Good. I understand that there are some things that you need to keep secret and that's fine, but this time just change the subject instead of the elaborate lie. Answer frankly and don't beat around the bush. Miss Green, everyone is wondering how got to be part of the team so expect someone to ask you about that. Are you willing to take that tarnished dog tag off?"

Cara's hand flew to her neck and her nostrils flared. "No. I'm not. It never comes off." She answered shortly. Tucker grabbed her hand.

"Babe, she didn't know. It's okay." He whispered soothingly. Danielle floated down from Danny's shoulders and gave Cara a hug. Aqua curled tighter around the hybrid's shoulders as her mistress moved quickly.

"It's okay Auntie." She said softly. Tiffany scribbled something down on her notepad, no doubt a reminder to ask about Cara's tag. A warning ring ran over the intercom and Tiffany stood.

"One last thing. As like you would if you were at home. These people want to see the real Team Phantom, not some stupid mask. Now follow me and let's get on with the show." She walked out of the room, her heels clicking against the floor. I stood first and followed the newscaster. Everyone followed behind me.

Tiffany was already introducing us when we all got to the doorway. The two plush armchairs had been replaced by several couches, only one chair remained. It was in the spot where Tiffany was sitting. "Last week we started our interview with Danny Fenton/Phantom before the return of Pariah. Since then new information has come into the public eye so I convinced the entire team to come and retry last week's little mishap. Welcome back Danny Fenton/Phantom, Sam Manson, Danielle Fenton/Phantom, Tucker Foley, and Caroline Green!"

We walked out confidently. Dani had a firm grip on my hand as we walked across the stage. The five of us all piled on one couch just like we did for movie night at home. Danny, Tucker, and I all sat normally. Cara sat on Tucker's lap and Danielle sprawled out over Danny and me. "So." Tiffany started, she reminded me of Paulina the more I listened to her. She was overly preppy and was completely convinced that everything she was told was real. "Why don't you all tell us who you are and your connections to each other for those who have been living under a rock for the last week?"

Tuck straitened his collar. "Sure. I'm Tucker Foley, that's TF as in Too Fine. Danny and I have been best bros ever since we were in diapers and I've been one of Sam's best buds ever since we were five. Ghosty Girl is basically my niece and Cara's my girlfriend." Cara giggled into Tucker's shoulder.

"I'm Dr. Caroline Green. Too Fine right here is my boyfriend. Sam's my big sister but I've only known her for a few years. I've gotten pretty close to everyone even before I was on the team, even Danny. Danielle is my niece so, yeah, Sam?"

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Everyone knows who I am. I'm in almost every picture the world has of Danny. Anyways I'm Sam Manson. Cara's my little sister, Tucker's my annoying best friend, Glowstick's the world's best boyfriend and Danielle is my daughter." Danielle snuggled in a little closer to me when I said that and I ran a hand across her forehead, brushing her bangs from her face.

Danny flashed his eyes a neon green. "I'm the first Danny Fenton/Phantom. Tucker's my best bud, Cara's one of my closest friends, Shade's my girlfriend and probably my mate someday and The Phoenix here is my baby girl." My face flushed up when Danny said that I would probably be his mate someday. In his lessons with Clockwork he learned some weird ghost customs. Having mates instead of husbands and wives was one of them. Tiffany smiled at Danielle.

"Your turn Hon, don't worry, we don't bite." The woman trilled a shrill laugh after speaking like she had just said a very funny joke.

Dani sat up straight, one of her hands in mine and the other in Danny's. "My name," she started clearly, "is Danielle Cendrine Fenton/Phantom. My alter-ego is Phoenix. I'm three years old and tomorrow's my last day of freshman year." She started pointing out her family as she spoke. "That's my Uncle T, that's Auntie Cara, here's Mom and Daddy's right here."

Tiffany looked shocked that Danielle called us her parents so freely. "You don't find it strange that you and your parents go to the same school as you? You must feel like you're so much older than three."

Dani tensed slightly. "Sometimes." She replied slowly. "But I also act little when I'm at home. I play dolls with one of my friends in the Ghost Zone. I like being little." Aqua curled herself tighter around Dani's shoulders and flapped her wings at Tiffany, making the woman jump. She recovered quickly.

"Just as you should Danielle. So, none of you olders are engaged yet?" Danny cleared his throat, a slight flush coming to his face.

"No. Not yet at least." Snow's face fell.

"Oh alright. Caroline, what's with that necklace you're wearing? Is it a gift from Tucker?" Cara stiffened.

"No." She said hoarsely. "It was my big brother's. I was adopted into the Green family when I was really little. My brother Derek died overseas a couple of years ago. I threw a fit until I got his extra tag. I haven't taken it off since I got it." She sank into Tucker's lap and the young man sent her a look. There would be no more on the subject of Derek.

Tiffany crouched down to Danielle's level and the child snuggled in closer to me. "So Ellie, can we ask you some questions first? We haven't really seen much of you in the public eye until now and I'm pretty sure that there are some little girls around the world that would love to learn more about you."

Danielle looked up at me to make sure it was okay and I nodded. "It's okay. Go ahead." Dani nodded.

"Fine, but my name is Danielle, not Ellie." Snow smiled and flipped to a different page on her notebook.

"Peachy. How did you get those casts Little Miss? Was it something exciting?" Danielle rubbed the bright orange cast on her arm and glanced down at the blue on her leg.

"The fight against Pariah last weekend. I was with a small group guarding the sarcophagus and I got ambushed." She paused there and Tiffany waved for her to continue, not thinking once that it would be a painful memory for Danielle to relive. Danny reached over and set a hand on Danielle's arm.

"We can take it from here if you want Danielle." He suggested softly. Dani shook her head.

"I'm fine. Pariah's goons subdued me and opened the coffin. They released him and he caught my resemblance to my parents. It took him thirty seconds tops to figure out that I was Mom and Daddy's kid. They stuck me in a cage made of ectoranium, the same stuff that the disasteroid was made of. My dragon held me up so that I wouldn't touch the cage because I was that beat up. When Pariah fought my Daddy he teleported me on one of the buildings. I can't remember which one. Mom came up to get me out and I torched Nocturne. Mom busted the cage and pulled me out. I passed out just a couple minutes after Daddy finished fighting."

Snow nodded as she wrote down Danielle's every word. "Good, now what's the scariest thing that you've ever done Ellie?" Dani blanched, not even bothering to correct the newswoman. She started pinching her arm to make sure she was still being held together.

"Come here Danielle." I soothed as I picked her up on my lap. She gripped me tightly as she took a couple of deep breaths. "You don't need to talk about it." I whispered. She shook her head.

"I melted." She said after a couple of minutes. "My entire body dissolved into a puddle. I would have died if Daddy hadn't stabilized me. I flew out of a puddle of me. It was my body and I flew out of it." I rubbed circles on her back and Danny sighed, his eyes flashing green.

"Ask less personal questions or ask somebody other than Danielle. She needs a break." Seeing the glowing halfa Tiffany nodded quickly.

"Of course. So Danny, will little Ellie be getting any siblings anytime soon?" Danny's cheeks flooded emerald as my flushed scarlet.

"No. _Danielle _is the only little in the picture for a very long while for us." Aqua lifted off from Dani's shoulder and floated in front of Tiffany Snow. She flared her wings up and squawked. Tiffany lurched backwards so quickly that her chair flipped over. Dani burst out laughing before clamping her hand to her mouth.

"By the Realms I'm sorry. That was so rude. Come here Aquamarine." Her dragon leapt up into her lap and curled up like a cat, content to be reprimanded because her princess was smiling softly.

Snow righted her chair and sat back down, smoothing her ruffled red skirt. "Not a problem. Caroline, what was it like coming on the team after it was already developed? There had already been a Team Phantom for two years before you joined on."

Cara straightened her shoulders. "It actually wasn't too bad. I had already known Sam for a while and I'd hung out with the three older members a couple of times. The first time I fought I just grabbed a Jack-O-Nine-Tails and started helping snare a dragon. It wasn't a permeation thing, it was I had skills that could help and that's what it started with. After that I got really close to everyone and started dating Tucker. Now I just don't know what I would do if I wasn't on the team."

Danny grinned over at Cara. "I would be all the way dead, no questions asked." The team laughed and Dani climbed over to the other end of the couch, sitting between Tucker and Danny.

Tiffany chuckled softly just because we were laughing. She completely cut off the last question and went on to the next. "Tucker, there are rumors that you're resigning as mayor. Do you care to prove them right or wrong?"

Tuck draped his arm around Danielle's shoulders. "They're actually true. Effective the thirty first I won't be mayor anymore. I was barely able to handle it in high school and keep my grades decent but I won't be able to do that in college."

"What do you lot plan on doing after college?" Tiffany shot back as soon as the words were out of Tucker's mouth. He gestured to me and I took a deep breath.

"Cara's already done of college so she's just going to go straight on to working at the hospital. Tucker's going to be an inventor with hacking on the side. I'm to start an art studio with some pieces from the Zone. Most people haven't seen what it looks like in there. Danny's going to start working with the police when we're done with college."

Tiffany nodded. "What do you have going on in the Ghost Zone right now?" She asked just as an alarm rang out from my phone. We shrugged.

"Sorry Tiffany. That's all the time we have booked for this year. Maybe next time." Green eyes grew wide as Snow nodded.

"Team Phantom everyone." She said cheerily as we walked off of the stage. She wrapped up the show quickly but now fast enough. We were already flying through the warm summer air, halfway down the block, when we heard a frustrated scream.

* * *

_Hi? It's GRACIE! My birthday was yesterday so yeah. I'm in a pretty fantastic mood. We are nearing the end my friends. I think that there's three chapters left out of this fic. Boo. Anyhoo… If SamXDanny and Blak-Ice are willing to listen to me rant about ideas for next chapter and give me ideas send me a PM. Those two are amazing. I've gotten so much help from them. Clap for them! Clap I tell you! LATER PHANS!_


	27. Twenty Seven: Change

**I present to you... THE MEGA CHAPTER! I couldn't cut it off so it's eight pages long. Oh Well. Have fun reading Phans. IT'S SOO FLUFFY I'M GONNA DIE!**

Danny's POV

Danielle spun to Sam and me across the hall. The skirt from her orange sundress swirled as she twirled into my arms. "Hi!" She chirped. "There's only a few hours left on the last day of school!"

I chuckled as I picked her up and set her on my shoulders. "That's right Dani. Whatcha want to do to celebrate after school tonight?" She dipped her head down so that she could look Sam in the eyes.

"Can we go out for ice-cream?" She begged as we walked down the hall to the lunchroom. Sam bit her lip.

"We'll see." She groaned. Danielle took that as a yes. A dragon the size of a baseball leapt into the air, flying around the three of us. I opened the door with my foot and let Sam through. She sent me a look. "I could have opened the door myself Danny." She said softly. I shrugged and Danielle giggled as it made her bounce.

"I know. But you also know that I'm a bit old fashioned and I like to open the door for a pretty girl." Sam blushed and walked up to the lunch line. I followed with Danielle on my shoulders. Dani leaned down.

"Are you getting Mom a special present because you're graduating tomorrow?" I licked my lips.

"Kind of. You're not getting any spoilers Dani. You'll see it later." Dani huffed.

"Daddy." She groaned as I stepped up to the lunch line. She hopped off of my shoulders so that she could order herself. I grabbed a sandwich and walked over to our normal table. Lacy was already sitting there. She was trying her hardest to patch things up with Danielle.

"Hiya." She said with a smile. "What do you guys have planned for this afternoon? It's the first afternoon of summer freedom." Dani set down her tray and slid down beside Lacy.

"We're going out for ice-cream." She declared. Sam raised her eyebrows as she brought some tofu to her lips.

"I said that we'll see Danielle." Dani poured ranch dressing on her salad.

"With you that usually means yes Mom. When you say maybe it means no." Sam rolled her eyes as she popped a can of soda open.

"Smart kid." She fake grumbled. "What do you want to do after ice cream Danny?" I smiled softly.

"Danielle's staying with Jazz for the night while I take you on a date." I stated matter of factly. Sam tilted her head.

"How do you know that I don't have plans Mr. Hero?" I picked that onions off of my sandwich before taking a bite. Sam watched me as I chewed and swallowed, waiting for my answer.

"I checked your phone." Sam glanced down at the smartphone in her pocket.

"I forgot about that." I pressed a kiss on her forehead.

"I know." Sam punched me in the shoulder where I still hadn't healed.

"Ask me next time Glowstick. You have guts. Use them." I rolled my eyes.

"Alright. Just stop punching me. I'd kind of like to go through my last day of high school without Caroline having to cover me in gauze." Sam mimicked my eye roll.

"Baby." She said with a half laugh in her voice.

I blinked several times. I was convinced that Clockwork was messing with me. There was no movement on the clock. It had to be four by now. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. I sighed and glanced over at Sam. She was doodling in her sketch book, completely ignoring Mr. Jones' goodbye speak to the class. I turned around and glanced at Tucker. He had one hand on his PDA and the other in his pocket, fiddling with something inside. I smirked. There was no doubt that Cara's ring was in that pocket.

Twisting one last time I looked over at Cara. She was staring at the window bored. Perfect.

_Hello Caroline Green. _ I thought in a voice that sounded like it was from a horror movie. She jumped before scowling.

_Hi Danny. _She grumbled. I chuckled softly.

_Whatcha doing?_ I asked innocently. Cara rolled her eyes.

_Dying of boredom. I think it hurts as much as your death did. I already graduated once, why am I not skipping this part? _ I shrugged.

_Because you never had a graduation._ _It's a valuable learning experience. _Cara flipped me a mental finger.

_Why are you dropping Danielle of at Fenton Works for Jazzy to watch later? _ I bit my lip.

_Did Dani tell you that? _I asked. Cara nodded.

_She was really excited. Jazz braids her hair for her. Maybe you should get Jazz to teach you to braid._ I genuinely considered it.

_Maybe. I'm taking Sam on a special date across the world. We won't be back by Dani's bedtime._ Cara's eyes flickered to the clock.

_Can you go command Clockwork to make time go faster with your Ghost King Powers? Because if this class doesn't end soon I will not make it to Amity Hospital this Fall._ I sighed.

_I almost wish. That would probably unravel something important in the timeline. It's against the rules. _Cara snorted.

_Doesn't he already break the rules a dozen times a week? _ I nodded.

_He confuses me._ Cara smiled and her eyes flickered back to the clock.

_There's only a minute of class left. Can you snap this off so I don't fall on my face as soon as I try to stand up? _ I decided to wait another thirty seconds.

_Sam and I can walk and talk telepathically at the same time._ Cara growled aloud.

_Daniel. _

_Yes Ma'am. _I snapped off the connection and the bell rang. Mr. Jones didn't try to stop the stampeding students.

"See you all tomorrow." He called out breathlessly. The four members of Team Phantom all looked at each other before running out of the room, grabbing our stuff, running and down the hall to where Danielle's locker was.

She was already waiting for us, one hand gripping her hoodie.

"I would have thought the four of you would be faster." She said with smirk. "I would have assumed that you would want to get out of here as fast as you could."

I  
rolled my eyes as I picked the girl up, tickling her leg as I did so. "It's not the end of the world that it took us a minute Danielle. Seniors were stampeding."

The girl giggled as she grabbed my hand. "Daddy, quit it. Are we going to go grab some ice cream now or what?"

I turned to Sam. "This is your call Mom." The Goth rolled her eyes before turning to Tuck and Cara.

"Do the two of you want to head down to the ice cream shop with us?" She asked with a soft smile of her face as she watched Danielle's silent cheers. Cara shook her head.

"Thanks but no thanks, we have plans. See you tomorrow?" We all nodded and the couple walked off hand in hand. Their faces were close and I was pretty sure that they weren't talking about computers or video games.

"Good luck!" I called out and Tucker shot me a grin. Sam hooked her arm in one of mine as I held the three backpacks in one hand.

"What was that about?" She asked curiously as we walked out of the school. I gave her a sly smile.

"Telling you would be a violation of the Dude Code." Sam huffed.

"Stupid Dude Code. No clues?" She asked, almost begging for information. Sam HATED being left out of the loop.

"Not until later." She sighed at my answer. The three of us tried to walk in silence but we were actually mobbed. That actually surprised me a bit. I know that being a hero means I'm going to get mobbed but people usually tried to respect the privacy of the team. It's a good think that we lived in a small town, I really don't know what would have happened if there was some big news team following us all of the time. I lifted off from the ground without swapping forms. Sam sighed.

"There's no rest for the wicked, if there Danny?" She huffed watching the swarm of people below us as I floated about fifteen feet off the ground over to the ice cream shop.

"Well," I said with a smirk, "I wouldn't say that we're wicked but something along the same lines as that." Sam snorted as I fazed us through the ceiling. Sam and I landed with practiced ease on our feet, I handed Sam my wallet and she smoothed the worn leather as she prepared to grab the ice cream and pay with my extra cash. Valarie was standing in front of us with a smile on her face. She had gotten a job at the ice cream shop just prior to junior year and liked it much more than working at the Nasty Burger. Not only was the pay better but there wasn't a crazy uniform for her to wear and her boss was nicer.

"Hey guys, I didn't think that I'd be seeing the three of you out in public for a while." Sam shrugged, trying to keep a civil conversation with the huntress.

"They're not even supposed to be talking to us. We made a deal just after the disasteroid that we'd have the yearly interview and then be done."

Valarie shrugged. "It's probably not binding now that you have Danielle." As Valarie mentioned the girl she sent the little hybrid a small wave of her hand. "Whatcha in the mood for Dani? I'll start getting you set up as I talk with your folks." Valarie scrunched her nose up with a small laugh. "That feels kind of weird to say." She giggled.

Dani set her elbows on my head and I had a pretty good feeling that she was rolling her eyes at the woman before us. "Living it's a bit weirder than just saying it. Do you have any Cookies and Cream?" Valarie glanced to me for clarification on the next part.

"One scoop or two on the cone Daddy?" She said with her playful teasing. Dani reached down and showed me two fingers. I shrugged and Danielle bobbed from the movement.

"Two's cool. Somebody has a sleepover with Aunt Jazz tonight so we can sugar her up." Sam laughed.

"That's not the only reason. She also wrapped you around her finger Danny. Dani can't do anything wrong in your eyes." I smiled softly as Danielle giggled.

"You're right Sam, mark the day, I admitted it." Sam smirked as she punched me in the shoulder, thankfully the healed one this time. Valarie's gaze was fluttering between Dani and Sam.

"I can't believe I didn't notice how similar the two of you looked before." She awed as she matched little similarities between the girls. She passed Dani's ice cream to me and I passed it up to the "Anyways, what about the Lovebirds? Are you just grabbing something for Dani or are you getting ice cream too?"

Sam glanced over at me with a questioning glance. She didn't even react to the lovebirds comment. "It depends on Mr. Fenton's plans." I thought for a second.

"Can we get two pints of ice cream to go?" Valarie grabbed two containers from the counter and gestured to the counter of flavors.

"You pick, I'll fill." Sam tapped the raspberry-vanilla swirl, her favorite.

"One with that please." Valarie started scooping and started asking Sam about how she did on her French finals. Valarie sent me a short glance when she was done filling Sam's ice cream. I tapped the pumpkin pie ice cream that Amity kept around yearlong because somebody let it slip that it was my favorite. Val continued to chat with the girls as I just stood there. I didn't mind that I wasn't involved in the conversation. It gave me time to think.

If wasn't like I hadn't put insane amounts of thought into what I had planned for the evening, it was just that when I planned things down to the letter, things messed up. My mind started tossing doubts at me. What if she said no? What if I looked like a fool? _Just chill until we get there. _I told myself as I felt someone pinch me.

"Earth to Daddy." Dani said as she waved sticky fingers in front of my eyes.

"Huh?" I questioned. "Sorry, I got a bit lost in thought for a moment there. We all done here?" The movement of Dani's body let me know that she was nodding. "Sorry." I said sheepishly. Val waved me off and smiled at the tree of us

"Go on. Lover Boy there must have something pretty crazy planned to space like that. I'll see you guys for graduation tomorrow."

The three of us waved to Valarie and Dani laughed softly. "I love you guys." She hummed through ice cream coated lips to Sam and I as we walked out of the store. Sam had a bag with our ice creams in it as she walked beside me. I slipped one hand in hers and she smiled softly.

The paparazzi had waited for us, I glared and the few photographers that still had some sanity left in them walked in the other direction. Most of them trailed behind us.

I flashed my eyes when I turned around five minutes later. I really didn't want to teleport, I wanted to save my energy for the massive teleport I was planning on later. "You can stop following us!" I exclaimed. "We're just heading home after school! It's not that exciting!"

None of them seemed to care. I rolled my eyes as we walked up the front steps of Fenton Works. "Bye Idiots!" Sam said cheerily. She looked very close to flipping them a finger so I pulled her inside behind me.

Sam sighed as I dropped the backpacks down on the floor. They made a satisfying clunk and Dani shook her head just a bit as she jumped off of my shoulders. She was covered in ice cream and smiling happily as she walked over to the living room. "It's summer!" she screamed as she launched herself on the couch. Footsteps pounded down the stairs and Jazz turned over to the living room where Sam and I had followed Dani.

"Oh." Jazz said, drooping slightly at the sight of the ice cream covered halfa. "You sugared her up before having me watch her. Thanks." I gave my sister a one-armed hug.

"You're a lifesaver. I'll tell you why tomorrow but you are. If you need anything I have my phone. Dani knows where things are in the lair. We'll be back tomorrow. Love you Jazzy." My sister raised her eyebrows.

"I expect an explanation when you get home Daniel Fenton. I know we've had this arrangement for weeks that I would hang out with Danielle today but you're acting weird."

Sam rolled her eyes as she walked over and gave Jazz a high five in greeting. "Danny's always been weird Jazz, you know that." Sam sent me a questioning look and my heart started going in overdrive. "Are you going to show me the surprise now Your Highness?" I nodded as I pulled a little box out of my pocket and passed it to Jazz. It held the swan I got at the jewelry store a couple days ago.

"It's a surprise for Dani. You give it to her when you think she should get it." Jazz chuckled and glanced at her niece, the girl was already using the puppy dog eyes.

"Thanks Danny, you two have fun." Sam grabbed my hand and we ran down the stairs. My mom was standing in front of the door the lair with her hands on her hips. A smirk was on her face as she watched us.

"I know," I said before Mom could get anything out, "nothing illegal, call if a ghost holds us up, we'll be home by noon tomorrow, we have our phones, and nothing insanely stupid. We've got it." Sam smirked at me, noticing in the slight variation in the rules from the last time I said them.

Mom walked over, pressing a kiss on my cheek and one on Sam's head. "Have fun you two." She smiled as she went back to the machine she was working on. I held up my hands for Sam to wait.

"I need to grab just one thing from the lair and then we can leave." Sam rolled her eyes with a small smile. She was still holding the bag of ice creams.

"Go on Ghost Boy." I rushed through the door and summoned the duffel bag, making objects appear inside simply because I wanted them there. Inside were spoons, a coat for Sam, a couple blankets, sandwiches, a thermos of cocoa, Styrofoam cups, and a container of whipped cream. One of my hands crept to my neck and I smiled softly when I felt the silver ring on the cord I had slipped around my neck and under m tee shirt. Sam had my wallet and my phone was in my pocket. I was good. And I was damn nervous.

I walked back into the human world and grabbed Sam's hands. "Are you ready?" I whispered. She nodded. "Close your eyes?" I asked softly, knowing better than to tell Sam to close them. She rolled her eyes but closed them anyways. I had to focus. I had only been to the place I was teleporting to a handful of times. Cold washed over me and my body burst apart.

Sam was already shivering when our bodies were whole again. "Holy Hell Danny!" She exclaimed with chattering teeth. "What are we doing here?" I looked around the frozen world around us and I could understand why she was a bit confused. If you didn't pay attention to where we were it would seem like we were just in middle of an icy plain.

I pulled Sam's coat out of her duffel and carefully slipped it on her and rubbed her arms through the material to help warm her up. I didn't think that it was too cold, maybe in the 60s but the thermometer said different, it was barely five degrees out. "Try to remember. Two years ago, in this very spot, you kissed me on the cheek," I pressed a swift kiss on Sam's face as it dawned on her.

"And then you got the courage to do this." She placed her lips on mine and I reacted. I dropped the duffel bag and wrapped my arms around Sam's waist, eyes slipping closed. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I pulled her close. Sam's tongue just brushed against mine and I smiled against her lips. The kiss turned into a battle and finally Sam pulled back, gulping in precious air. She had a look of glee on her face for a moment before her face fell. "They never cleaned any of it up."

I looked in the direction that Sam was staring. Off to the left was the tower that I had poured almost all of my energy into, to the right was the ruins of the old Ops Center. "Huh. I was sure that they would have scrapped those." I shrugged as I started building a shelter out of glowing green ectoplasm turned solid by my concentration. Usually I would have used ice but the ectoplasm generated a decent amount of heat and it would make Sam more comfortable. I used completely clear ice to cap the top of the dome off in a straight line so that we could see the sky. I unzipped the duffel bag and took out the blankets. "Ta-Da." I said as I laid the smaller of the two blankets on the ground. I handed the other one to Sam as she sat down.

She wrapped herself in the fluffy mass and smiled at me. "Was this a spur of the moment thing or another one of your elaborate plans Glowstick?" I chuckled softly.

"I've been planning this bit by bit since before we knew that Danielle was ours. If we hadn't gotten the surprises that we got this month I probably would have pulled it off sooner."

Sam wrapped her fingers in mine and pulled me down beside her. I sat happily and Sam leaned in close. "Is this just some crazy celebration about graduation or is it something more?" she whispered. I nervously licked my lips.

"I have a bit more planned. Cocoa?" Sam nodded and looked up through the dome's lid. We were so far south that it was dark already and there were so few lights around here that it was easy to see the stars. I handed her a cup of the sweet drink and she took a long sip.

"Thank you," She said softly, "for bringing me here." Sam took a long pause before glancing through the almost clear green dome. "What do you think is going to change next?" She murmured, a bit of whipped cream covering her lips.

I laughed softly. "I was kind of hoping there would be a lull for a bit Sam. We're starting college this fall, I need to get used to being king, the Baxter's are trying to be a bit friendlier and that in itself must be a sign of the coming apocalypse." Sam laughed there and I waited a moment before starting again. "We have plenty still changing Sam, a lull wouldn't hurt for a bit. If I had to say something was going to change I would say that Cara's name might be changing in the next year or so."

Sam turned to me with owl eyes. "Tucker's proposing?" She gasped. I held up my hands with a smirk.

"I didn't say anything. That would be against the Dude Code." Sam knew that was my way of saying yes. It wasn't a huge deal anyways, Tucker was probably telling Caroline about Sam's ring now too. It wouldn't matter by morning. "Do you want to take a walk?" I asked, a bit nervous. Sam stared at me like I was crazy, she was probably right.

"You do know how cold it is, right?" I closed my eyes and focused on warmth. It didn't take my immunity to the cold away, I was just warmer now.

"I'll keep you warm." I promised. Sam stood, keeping the blanket wrapped around herself, and kept her hand wrapped around mine. I fazed us through the dome as we walked over to the tower. Sam kept her hand on my shoulder and we talked about little things. How strong Danielle was getting, not physically but mentally, how often we had seen Ms. Tetslaff slip on the wet tile in the pool room at Casper in the last month, how unusually quiet it was since my coronation, but mostly about change.

"You know," I said as Sam and I sat down on the base of the tower. I smiled at the spot where Sam had tackled me when I came down. "There are a couple things that I wouldn't mind changing."

Sam lifted her head up from where she had rested it on my lap. "Like what Danny?" I smirked.

"Just one tiny thing that's been messing with me for a while." Sam slipped her eyes closed and I pulled the ring off of the cord around my neck.

"What's it about? The Zone? The Human world?" I put a small smile on my lips as I got ready to get the biggest freaking glare of my life thrown at me.

"You." I said softly, the caring tone never leaving my voice. Sam's eyes snapped open and if looks could kill I would be in the morgue.

"You have thirty seconds to explain." She snapped. The lady looked sinister and if hadn't know I was getting that look I would have curled up in a corner. I laughed, something that seemed to enrage her further.

"Calm down Shade. When I think of perfect I think of you. I was only thinking about your name." Sam's anger calmed but her mouth parted just a little bit.

"What do you mean by that?" I brushed her bangs out of her face with my free hand and kissed her forehead.

"I've always really liked the way Sam Fenton sounds. And I talked to Clockwork about how long royal ghost engagements are, they're actually only five years. I could wait that long if you will." I dangled a ring in front of her eyes like it was a treat for a puppy. "What do you say Sam? Will you marry me? Be my mate for eternity?"

Sam held up her left hand and removed the class ring I had given her two years ago and slipped it in her pocket. She gestured for me to put it on her. I slid the ring over her finger and she grinned.

Sam stood and pulled me up from where I was sitting. "Sam? Wha-" I was silenced by lips on mine. I melted and just wrapped my arms around Sam's. She pulled back when she needed air.

"Danny. That's a change that I look forwards to."

* * *

**I just realized that they didn't eat the ice cream they bought. Huh, maybe between making out. LATER PHANS!**


	28. Twenty Eight: Hero

**Sam's POV**

Danny teleported us back to Amity shortly after 9am our time. We slipped into the lair to get cleaned up and dressed before stepping into the lab. Even from downstairs we could hear the strange noises from upstairs. There were thumps against steel and angry yelling from Caroline. I wasn't too worried. Danny squeezed my hand tightly for a moment. "In just a few hours we'll be graduates." He breathed, almost in awe of the fact that he had actually managed to qualify.

I pressed a soft kiss on his cheek. "Yeah. We will. It's kind of crazy. I'm excited though, aren't you?"

Danny smiled and stopped on the stairs, pressed a kiss on my forehead, and resting his forehead against mine so that our noses were almost touching. "I'm more than excited Sam. Not as excited as I was for last night, but still really excited." We stood like that for a moment before I opened the door to the rest of Fenton Works. I walked to the living room and almost laughed at the sight that was waiting for me.

The thumping sounds were coming from outside, no doubt the media hoping to get pictures of Danny. The blinds were drawn so that there wasn't a chance for any pictures to be taken. Danielle was holding Caroline down as Maddie and Jazz each held one of the doctor's feet, equipped with nail polish, painting her toes.

When Cara saw me she breathed a sigh of relief. "Sam! Save. Me. Please!" I laughed as walked over and Sat down beside the girls.

"What's so bad about nail polish Cara? It's just a little color." The young woman glared at me.

"They're killing my toesies." She growled. Danny chuckled softly from where he was standing in the doorway.

"Cara. It's not going to kill you. Nice bling by the way." Cara blushed a pale pink as she glanced down at her hand. I crawled over and took her arm from Dani. A pink and green ring was on her left hand.

"Pretty, and congratulations baby sister!" I laughed as Cara glowed. "Do all of you need to hold her down to get her toes painted or can one of you help me?" Maddie, Jazz, and Danielle all looked at me like I was missing the point. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Shade. Cara's almost as strong as you-" He started.

"Hey!" Cara growled. "I like to think that Sam and I are just as strong!"

"-and I paint Jazz's toes sometimes. Go grab a color and I'll do it." he continued like she hadn't said anything. Cara and I both looked at him like he lost his marbles before turning to Jazz.

"He painted your toes?" Cara asked incredulously. Jazz rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. I taught him how to paint nails. He was eight and I needed help so I had him do it. Danny hasn't done it as much since he started being Phantom but he'll still do my toes every once and a while. He's painted Danielle's too." Dani stuck her toes out for proof and showed that her toes were painted a shiny gold.

"I'm not just good for hitting things." Danny said as I grabbed the basket of colors. "I'm a man of many talents." I rolled my eyes with a smile.

"Sure thing Danny. Thanks. Why are we bothering with painting toes anyways?" Maddie glanced up from Cara's foot.

"It's just something that my family's always done and you guys are family too. Everyone just helps the girls with their makeup and nails. I don't even know who started it." Danny snatched the bottle of dark purple polish from my hand and started peeling my boots off.

"Go ahead and do your girl talk." He insisted. "I'm not here."

After an hour of the nail polishing, Tucker came upstairs from the lab. "What the hell are all of you doing?" He asked, face slack. "It looks like Danny's covered with nail polish." Danny glanced up at Tucker like he had missed the memo.

"My fiancée is happy. That means I'll get my hands dirty. Did you just wake up or something?" A little shiver caught me when Danny called me his fiancée. Tucker didn't have time to say anything because Jazz screamed.

"You too! Oh my gosh! Let me see the ring!" I surrendered my hand to Jazz before showing Maddie and finally Cara. I braced myself before Jazz tackled me in a hug. I counted to ten before removing her arms from mine. I turned to Cara and smirked.

"Your toesies are done. That means I can tackle you baby sister." Cara grumbled at me as she crawled over and gave me a hug.

"I'm not a baby. I'm a doctor, graduating high school for the second time, and I'm married. Drop the baby thing." I froze as Cara smiled brightly. "Surprise Sam."

My jaw fell to the floor as Danny stared at Tucker, his supernatural hearing catching Cara's words. "Dude! I wanted to be the best man! You said you were popping the question, not getting married!" Tucker shrugged, grinning at us as he rubbed his left hand.

"We've been engaged for the past six months Danny. Genius there just didn't want that kind of ring. It was really quiet, just our parents and the officiant." Danny folded his arms as he blew on my toes.

"I wanted to be the best man." He grumbled like a child. Maddie and Jazz gaped at the four of us before shaking their heads.

"I have never met anyone that rivals your guys' ability to keep secrets." Maddie sighed as she continued to shake her head. I gave Cara a one armed hug.

"I get it. I'm not happy that my little sister and my best friend got married behind my back but I get it." Danny stopped blowing on my toes for a moment.

"Explain it to me." he said in a voice that was falsely high, his attempt at a baby voice. I snorted and Danny smiled at me.

"They wanted it quiet. If all of us showed up some place so that they could get married there would have been a mob not unlike this one. Not quiet Danny." He sighed.

"Fine. These were going to be graduation presents but now I guess they're graduation presents and wedding presents, here." He passed an envelope to each Caroline and Tucker. Cara slid her nail underneath the edge of the flap and ripped it upwards, pulling out a cliché graduation card. She raised her eyebrows.

"Really Danny. Really?" The halfa smirked.

"Just open it Caroline." Cara's eyes scanned the card and she opened it, a piece of white paper fell out of the card and on to her lap. She reached down to grab it but I snatched it up from her lap and held it.

"You have to read the card first." I trilled. Cara smirked as she read the card out loud.

"You made it. Again. Why did you go and do it again anyways. Good luck and open the paper now Cara." Caroline glanced over at Danny again.

"It's not going to bite me, is it?" She asked warily. Danny shook his head.

"No. Just open it. You'll see." I handed Cara her paper back and she opened it carefully. She knew that coming from Danny, it wouldn't just be a check or something normal like that. She scanned the page with her eyes and her jaw dropped.

"Tucker! Oh. My. Gosh. Look at this!" Tuck crossed the room and sat down beside his wife. She handed him the hand-written letter and he read aloud.

"Mr. Phantom, we have looked over your recommendation and agree that Dr. Green would be an excellent addition to our association. From what you described of her abilities we have no doubt that she would be a welcome addition to any of our hospitals, whether it be on our emergency teams or not. This letter is a written recommendation for Dr. Green to any of our hospitals. It will give her an immediate job at the hospital of her choice. Sincerely, Richard Umbdenstock, CEO of the American Hospital Association." Tucker paused for a moment to glance over at Danny. "That's major Dude. Any hospital in the association?"

Danny nodded and smiled. "There are more than five thousand of them. That means, after you're done with college, if you and Cara want to move, it's a good chance that Cara's going to be able to get a job anywhere you guys want. And I made sure to include the emergency teams because I know it's what you do the most and what you like Cara."

Cara glanced over at Danny with misty eyes before standing up and walking over to him, giving him a squeeze. "Thank you." She breathed. "It's wonderful." Danny grinned.

"I'm glad. You open your envelope now Tuck."

Tucker eagerly ripped the covering off of his card, not bothering to read it out loud but still scanning it because he knew that we would take the white sheet from him until he read his card. In seconds he was onto the white sheet. He carefully unfolded the page and started reading slowly. With every line his eyes grew wider and he grew a bit paler. "Holy crap." he mumbled, speechless for once. "Danny. Holy crap."

Cara gently took Tucker's paper from him reading it out loud. "Dear Mr. Phantom. My company would be honored to have the Tucker Foley among our employees. From what I've heard not only is he extremely intelligent, but has vast amounts of potential. I expect great things from Mr. Foley, not just in the MACH program, but for years after. As soon as he's done with college let us know which location he would be interested in and we'll do our best to get him there. Best Wishes, Bill Gates." I swallowed.

"The Bill Gates?" I asked. "Chairman and founder of Microsoft?" Danny nodded.

"What's the MACH program?" Maddie asked curiously. Danny opened his mouth but before he could say a word Tucker started talking again.

"It's the coolest! It's an acronym for Microsoft Academy For College Hires. It's a two year program before you work your way up in Microsoft. It's not easy to get into but I was still going to try to apply after college. The interview itself takes a whole day usually and working at Microsoft would be really good considering most of the inventing I'm going to do is about computer tech and there are teams there that I could work on to do things like make the new X-box and phones and PDAs. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you Danny!" Danny laughed softly.

"I'm glad you're both happy. And now I'm done pulling strings. I feel more like a puppeteer than a super hero right now." An alarm started to go off on Tucker's phone and he pulled it out.

"Crap. We need to be at Casper in an hour. Let's get ready guys. I'm not missing my graduation."

I was standing around the stage in the gym at Casper. I kept on brushing my fingers over the white graduation gown that covered my dark purple dress. I was wearing sandals to show off Danny's handy work on my toes, which was actually pretty good. Danny stood beside me, holding my hand as he talked to a technician on the stage. For some reason, everyone seemed to think that Danny would be a good class rep. Which really meant that everyone wanted to hear another one of his speeches.

We were both, bored, but really excited. I kept on fingering my new ring, the texture of the gems contrasting greatly to my old class ring. At least I was used to having something on my finger. I looked around as Danny continued talking with the tech that was no doubt repeating standard information that Danny already knew.

Cara was spinning around, waiting for the prosecution that would take place in a good half hour and Tucker was recording her, no doubt laughing over how small Cara was acting. People were already filling into the bleachers, eyeing the chairs on the gym floor that would be full of students soon.

Danny sighed heavily, jolting me from my thoughts, "I understand. Can I go enjoy my graduation now?" The tech rolled his eyes.

"Fine Mr. Phantom. Come up when they call you." Danny smiled.

"I'm Danny Fenton today, not a super hero. Today I'm a high school graduate, not a ghost." The tech on stage shook his head.

"Alright Mr. Fenton. Go on and congratulations both of you on graduating." Danny couldn't help but laugh.

"Thanks." The grin across his face was huge as we walked over to Tucker and Cara.

"This is really happening." Tucker said with a grin as he helped Cara steady herself from her spinning.

"Hell must have frozen over. We're graduating. On time. With good grades." Danny laughed. I set my head against his shoulder.

"Hush up you two. We've caught up over the last couple of years. It's not like you're getting Ds because of ghosts anymore." Danny took my hand and spun me in a circle as I squealed. "Holy cow Danny! Give me some warning!"

"Nope." He declared as I fell into his chest. I glared at him, but my smile never left my face. Once again, Tucker's phone beeped. He beamed at the three of us.

"Let's go get in line." He declared.

I unfortunately, couldn't sit with the rest of the team. Cara and I both left for other parts of the line outside of the gym. Despite the fact that Cara's name was legally Caroline Foley now, her diploma still said Caroline Green. I found myself standing between Star and Nathan. Star smiled at me. She was actually, pretty nice. She had mellowed out and drifted away from Paulina over the last year. "Hey Sam." She said with a smile. I waved, using my left hand like I usually did.

Star took my hand and smirked. "Congratulations. I assume this isn't another promise ring, is it?" I shook my head, not bothering to cover it up. The world would know by the evening anyways with all of the picture that were going to be taken today.

"It's not. He popped the question last night." Star nodded, not prying any further. I noticed that she had her left hand in the pocket of her gown. "Kwan?" I asked softly, the relationship that Star had with the football player was no secret and if you didn't count the team, they were the most talked about couple at Casper. Star nodded. "Congratulations." I said as the music started. People started walking back into the gym and we all fell silent.

I started tapping on my leg, counting all of the things that could go wrong as a twisted way to keep myself busy. When I walked into the gym, I scanned the crowd before stopping myself. I found the Fenton's and grinned even though I was secretly hoping that somebody from my family was there. When I caught Jazz's eye she waved and took a step to the side. There, holding Danielle on her lap, was my grandmother.

I bright smile lit up my face as Grandma and Dani waved to me. Danielle was moving her mouth with exaggerated movements. All she was mouthing was Hi Mom. I sent her a small wave of my fingers and her nose caught on fire from the strength of her excitement for her family. I couldn't help but laugh at the look of pure shock on her face and I heard Danny, Tuck and Cara doing the same. I stood in front of my seat before the entire class sat down at the same time.

It started with the standard graduation stuff. The national anthem was sung along with a song that probably wasn't originally about high school, but fit it pretty stinking well. Breakaway or something like that. The scholarships were awarded and all of the honor students stood. The valedictorian and class president each said a cliché speech that was standard for graduation.

Then things turned from normal to Amity. Mr. Lancer stepped up onto the podium after the valedictorian, he was wearing a suit just as he had been for the beginning of the graduation, but now he had the Casper High Raven's mascot head over his face to make sure he still had everyone's attention. Out came the camera phones from the students so that they could all get one last photo of Lancer looking like a fool.

"Now that you've all heard that inspiring speech from Ms. Shultz, we have another speaker. Typically at Casper high, our third speaker is somebody that we hope inspires you all to go and try to be like them in your future career. In years past we've had the mayor, the founder of Axion Labs, and even Mr. Bleu of the GiW. This year, we have somebody completely different. We have someone that the faculty here hopes you want to be like in character, not necessarily career. I now introduce Mr. Daniel Fenton/Phantom."

Danny stood up and it went from being really quiet to ear-bursting loud. His eyes were wide and his hands were on his ears as he walked up on to the stage. Danny didn't even bother using the stairs, leaping up onto the stage with a burst of flight in his still human form. It finally got quiet and Danny carefully removed his hands from his ears. "Oh, cool. My brain's not exploding anymore." He said, loud enough without the aid of a microphone. At the murmurs of confutation Danny explained quickly. "I have superhuman senses guys, I could hear a mouse breathing at a rock concert. Anyways, humor me for a second."

Danny closed his eyes and set a hand on his chest. "Breath in." He instructed. There was a sucking sound as the hundred strong group of graduates all took a deep breath of air. "And out." Danny said after a minute. "Now pat yourself on the back because we finished high school." There was a laugh from just about everyone before Danny started his real speech. "I know that everyone was probably expecting me to into some 'We're this world's future' spiel, but that would be normal, and Casper High hasn't been normal in the least for us." Danny flashed his eyes green for a moment to get his point across.

"I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only person here that had something life changing happen here. Its high school, our last step up before heading out into the real world. I'm not going to go on about that either, instead I'm going to ask you all a question. Who's your hero?"

Danny raised his hands to calm everyone down as they started talking. "Chill. You don't need to tell everyone, I just want you to think about it. And I also really hope it's not me. Seriously, the reason everyone says that I'm a hero is because I did something stupid and then tried to do my best with the powers I gained from my carelessness. There's only one person in this room that I actually hope think's I'm a hero and she's sitting in the bleachers with my parents as she watches her family graduate. I want to be her hero, not yours."

The gym was silent as Danny ran a hand through his hair, you could have heard a pin drop. "That doesn't mean that I don't want you all to have heroes. There are just better people to have for heroes than me. I'm going to tell about some real heroes and see if you understand then. By a show of hands, who thinks my hero is Neil Armstrong?"

A good thirty hands went up and Danny nodded. "It's a good guess, I've always loved space and I've actually met the guy's ghost. But he's not met my hero. A lot of my heroes are actually sitting in this very room."

People started looking around, trying to figure out who had the honor of being the Halfa's hero. "I've seen some pretty weird stuff," Danny started, smirking as he walked around the stage. "I've seen Pariah Dark's sarcophagus, several end of the world situations, and the Box Ghost engaged." People snickered at the comment of the world's most annoying ghost. Danny shrugged with a smile. "Even with all of that, some of the people in this room still stand out as amazing to me and I haven't even told a couple of them how awesome they are. Can Emily Erickson stand up?"

A young woman with short, coffee colored brown hair stood up, brushing some of her hair from her face. "Hi." She said loud enough so that everyone could hear.

Danny smiled. "Hi Emily. I'll only embarrass you for a minute, promise." She nodded her head and Danny continued. "Emily is really shy but we've been in the same class for the past eight years. I'd bet most of you have only seen her in passing before. That doesn't mean that she's not a hero though." The girl blushed beet red, but still stood as she waited for Danny to speak, oblivious of what Danny was talking about. "Emily has been helping me with the ghosts without even knowing it, do you know how?"

The class shook it's head no as a whole, waiting for Danny's explanation. "Emily makes sure nobody's around when the blood starts. In every single class I've been in with her that there's an attack, she's always at the door, holding it open for everyone and making sure everyone's safe before she leaves, she's seen the blood as she made sure everyone else doesn't. That's a really brave thing to do and nobody ever thanks her. How many of you have run during a ghost attack by a show of hands?" Everyone's hands went up but Emily's and mine.

"That's okay. I've done it before in other realities. Ghosts are freaky. But Emily's brave and makes sure everyone's safe. That makes her a hero." Danny started clapping and everyone picked up the applause quickly, cheering for the girl that nobody knew existed. Emily blushed as she sat down. Everyone clapped for a moment before Danny started talking again. "Emily's not my only hero here. And now I'm going to get yelled at for this later but where's Valarie Grey?"

The huntress stood, eyes narrowed at her friend. "Danny. Wha-" Danny cut her off before she could say anything more.

"Val's a huntress, a protector just like me, only better. Valarie's human, just like you, but that doesn't mean that she's not going to fight for you. She's been fighting ghosts almost as long as I have, and I don't see anyone swarming her or helping her when she falls from the sky. Val's a hero, not because she has powers, but because she wants to help people and doesn't let little things like walls or ghost teenagers get in her way."

Val and Danny shared a laugh. "I'm still, really sorry about that Danny." Val called out but Danny waved her off.

"A round of applause for the Red Huntress guys." People clapped even louder than they had for Emily, probably because they knew Val and saw some of the thing that she had to put up with.

Val sat down and Mikey set a hand on her shoulder and smiled. Val smiled back, not bothered by the fact that Mikey was a "nerd." Danny rubbed his hands together.

"Cara Green?"

Cara stayed seated and called up to Danny with a smirk in her voice. "That's not my name Fenton!" Danny laughed.

"Sorry. I'm still in shock. Cara Foley, stand up." Caroline stood, not on the ground, but on her chair, embracing her quirkiness.

"Hi Guys!" She called out as she waved an arm in the air. Danny rolled his eyes.

"This is Cara. You probably saw her on the news but nobody actual acknowledged her as anything other than a medic. Cara's not just my medic. You've all seen her medical skills on me if you've seen me limping through school after a brutal attack but Cara's also somebody that's not scared to be herself. She's pounded on me for being an idiot, spun around in circles because it's a good day, and frequently glides around the place the five of us share in her hover sneakers because she doesn't want to be a normal human that day. Who here let themselves be smashed into a mold here at Casper?"

Hands came up, but slowly. Danny nodded. "I did too. But when Cara transferred here two and a half years ago, just before the disasteroid, she smiled and told everyone else to shove off when they said that she was strange. Cara's been the same Cara. And that's something pretty heroic. I have to say, I'm kind of scared to be myself some days. Cara's spreading her quirkiness because it's who she is, and that's really cool." Cara laughed as she sat down, the applause going on for more than a couple of minutes.

Danny stuck his hands in the pockets of his gown. "I have three other heroes in this room that really, are huge, that doesn't mean that there aren't other heroes, I'm just running out of time. One of them is Danielle. She's the strongest person I know."

Danny pointed to the Fenton's were Dani was sitting. She waved, her nose catching on fire again. There was a collective giggle at the small girl who blushed a fiery red. "My Daughter is my hero. The kind of person that I want to be when I grow up. Because I'm defiantly not a grown up yet. She's just as strong as her Mom and she's the kick but kind of amazing that I think that people should see. She's been through some things that I can't even think of yet she's still happy and glows over the little things. Danielle's my hero because she's strong but hasn't let it harden her." The applause stared before Danny could even start clapping and a grin lit up Dani's face.

Danny sighed and cleared his throat. "There's only two left. I need Sam and Tuck to get up for a minute, you can kill me for this later." I climbed to my feet as I shot Danny a look.

"I'm going to paint your face like a Día de los Muertos sugar skull while you're sleeping tonight." I warned. Danny laughed.

"That is a creative threat that I don't doubt you'll actually dish out. Anyways, I could ramble on about Tucker and Sam forever, but you already know how cool they are. They're my rock and I would have been all the way dead a long time ago if I didn't have them. They've been with me since the beginning and everyone needs somebody to lean on. I've been leaning on them. That's more than a little hard. I could tell you a thousand reasons why they're my heroes, but one of the big ones, is that they have the backbone to stand by their friends, even if they're more than a little crazy. That's a hero in my book." As people started clapping Danny grinned at me, mouthing that he loved me. I rolled my eyes and sat back down, waiting for everyone to stop the clapping for me.

Danny ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Now that I've told you about some people I think are heroes, I want you to reconsider yours. Are they heroes because they're famous? Because somebody says that they're a hero on the news? Or are they your hero because they're the kind of person you want to be like? I have to say that most of my heroes aren't a hero by TV standards, and that's the way that I think it should be. I hope that you guys want to be these kind of heroes as we leave this place, the kind of hero that our world needs. I hope that as you walk across this stage, that you want to be the kind of hero that I've been talking about, because that's cooler than stopping the Disasteroid in my book. Thank you."

Danny jumped off of the stage and waked back to his seat as everyone clapped for the Halfa. He sat down next to Tucker with a small grin on his face. Lancer stepped back onto the stage, wearing his stupid mascot head for kicks now. "Let's get on to the presentation of the diplomas." He said cheerily.

It took no less that 45 minutes to get the diplomas handed out and I was this close to stuffing Danny into a thermos from the cheering he did when I got my diploma, I screamed just as loud when he got his but still. He was a goofball. "Please move your tassels to the left." Mr. Lancer instructed after the final diploma had been given out. There was a rustle of movement as all of the students reached up and flipped the tassels over. "I now introduce the class of 2008!"

Hats were thrown in the air as the celebration started. We all still had to file out. I grabbed a stray hat and stuck it back on my head as I walked behind Star. As soon as I didn't have to stand in that line anymore I ran to were the Fenton's had been sitting. Danielle jumped up and wrapped me in a hug. "Mom! You graduated! And there wasn't a ghost fight or anything!" I gave Dani a quick squeeze before setting her down.

"It kind of surprised me to Ghosty. Why don't you go find Daddy, Uncle Tuck, and Auntie Cara for me? Okay?" Dani nodded and flew over the tops of the crowd as I sat down next to my grandma. "You made it." I whispered softly.

Grandma nodded. "I made it. I told you I would see you soon."

I laughed softly. "Did you get to talk with Dani?" Grandma nodded.

"I did Sam, she's a beautiful little girl, inside and out." I nodded.

"There's a reason that she's a little hero." I said softly, smiling as I watched the little girl float over the masses of teenagers.

* * *

**Holy cow that's a long chapter. It looks like there's only going to be one more chapter after this one guys. *Sniff* Realization is coming to a close. I do have a plan for the next one but it's not even started yet. Anyhoo, I'm going to go and either take a nap or write some more. I don't know. LATER PHANS!**


	29. Epilouge: Danielle's Voice

**Crap. I actually did the Math after I wrote the last chapter and for the way my story's playing out in my head they graduated in 2008. I fixed it. Anyways, here's the epilogue to Realization. Have fun.**

**Danielle's POV**

I floated over the crowd of people, many of them loved ones rushing to congratulate the teenagers below me. I scanned with my eyes and smiled when I saw a group of three people looking around in confusion, no doubt trying to find Mom or me. I flew over and landed on Daddy's shoulders. "Hi." I said brightly. Daddy's hands gripped my ankles as Auntie Cara and Uncle Tuck grinned at me.

"Hiya Tiny." Uncle Tuck said. "Do you know where the rest of the crew is? My folks already passed on the way out."

I nodded quickly. "Mom sent me to come grab you. She's talking with Grandma Ida." Daddy chuckled, making me jiggle on his shoulders.

"That's good. Sam missed her a lot. Point the way Ghosty Girl."

I stretched out so Danny could see the direction my arm was pointing. I acted as the crew's GPS, making sure that nobody got lost. In just a couple of minute I was sitting on Grandpa Jack's lap as Mom, Auntie Cara, Uncle Tucker, and Daddy caught up with Grandma Ida. I wasn't paying attention to what they were saying. I started fiddling with my fingers like Daddy did when he was nervous or bored. Frost started to coat my fingers as I started playing with my powers. I focused really hard and started to form shapes with the pale blue ice.

"What's that Dani?" Grandpa Jack asked as I leaned back into his belly and he looked over my shoulder.

"I don't know. It might be a flower later, or maybe a jungle gym for Aqua." Grandpa chuckled softly.

"Where is that dragon of yours Danielle?" I shrugged.

"She's roaming, exploring the human world. She'll be back when I call." Grandpa nodded as he petted my hair.

"Whatcha want to do when we get back to Fenton Works?" He asked me. I shrugged.

"Eat the cake Grandma Mads bought and then draw probably."

Grandpa Jack grinned as he gave me a squeeze. "Sound like a good plan Dani, why don't you go sit on Daddy's shoulders while I find Mr. Lancer, okay?" I nodded as I hopped off of Grandpa's lap and walked over to Daddy.

I didn't bother asking before I climbed on Daddy's shoulders, the spot was mine, and would be until I had a little brother or sister. That meant that I would have first claim to Daddy's shoulder for a long time.

I reached down and showed Daddy my ice sculpture that seemed to have morphed its way into a lily. "Wow Ghosty," Daddy said in awe, completely halting his conversation when I had figured he would just give the ice a quick glance and nod. Instead, he carefully took the ice with both hands, turning it over in his fingers as he examined it. "Sam, look at this, she even got the stamens in there."

Mom walked over quickly and took the ice from Daddy. Her jaw dropped, a good sign considering that she was the biggest plant lover that I ever met. "This is beautiful Baby." she said softly. I beamed with pride at their reaction to my flower. Of course, now that I had everyone's attention, my stomach growled.

I blushed and rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "I might have forgotten breakfast this morning." I admitted with a blush. Daddy shook his head, laughing softy.

"The one morning I don't ask you if you've eaten, you forget. Well, the Nasty Burger might be a bit busy but I think we can brave the crowds, don't you?" I nodded quickly, a burger and fries sounded fantastic right now.

"Seconded!" Uncle Tuck called, he turned to Auntie Cara, fining her puppy-dog eyes. "Please Babe?" He asked with a half pout. The woman rolled her eyes.

"I can deal with Nasty Burger if Sam can." At the queue Auntie gave us, Daddy and I turned to mom with identical, begging, baby blue eyes.

"Pretty Please?" I whispered. Mom shook her head with a grin.

"I'm never winning an argument with the two of you on the same side." She sighed, "Let's go before the reporters get us." I waved my arms in the air with a silent cheer. Daddy turned around to Grandma Mads, Grandma Ida, and Grandpa Jack. They were already standing with their bags in hand.

"Come on kids," Grandma smiled, "Jasmine's already bringing the car up."

The ride to the restaurant was quiet, but as soon as we got inside and Daddy said a lame joke, the tension over the fact that my parents were growing up slipped out the window as everyone started laughing and the group of four recounted tales from the past four years.

"My gosh." Daddy said after Grandma Mads asked him who was the most fun to fight with. "That, is a good question." He rubbed his chin as he thought before grinning. "Probably Vlad actually, it was so challenging fighting a foe with powers so like mine, but with more experience. The effort made it fun. Fighting with him was something that I actually had to think about unlike stuffing Technus into a thermos."

Aunt Jazz suddenly burst out laughing. "Remember when we pretended to fight to fool him?" She asked through her giggled. Daddy put both of his hands to his chest like he was a Shakespearean actor.

"Jazz! No, don't do it!" He said in an over exaggerated mockery of fear. Auntie smiled and did the same.

"Danny! What have I done? Can you ever forgive me?" The siblings fell apart in giggles as Auntie Cara and I stared at them blankly. Our downside for being later members of the team was that we didn't know all of the stories and adventures.

Mom kicked Daddy in the leg. "Not everyone knows the story goofball." She reprimanded. "Why don't the two of you start from the beginning of this one?" Aunt Jazz nodded and started talking before Daddy could even open his mouth.

"It was a couple of weeks after I had started being more active in the Team's fight against the ghosts..."

Our ghost conversation had gone from Undergrowth, to Skulker, to Freakshow, to Nocturne, to the one time the Box Ghost was threatening, and then back to Freakshow before we finally got off of the subject of ghosts for a brief while. Grandma Mads sighed. "What are your guys' big plans?" She asked with as much excitement as she could. Part of her was struggling not to cry because both of her children had graduated. Grandpa Jack wrapped an arm around her small shoulders and squeezed.

Daddy opened his mouth before closing it. Mom laced her fingers with his, "We know what you're doing Glowstick, College, police squad, and the Zone. It's better not to get into specifics anyways. I'm going to see if I can start to illustrate covers of horror stories after college. Cara's going straight on to Amity Hospital, for now at least, and Tuck's heading to Microsoft after college. Bam." Auntie Cara leaned on Uncle Tucker from where they were sitting in the booth.

"All of this grown up talking sounds exhausting!" She groaned. "I thought that we were still going to be kids for a little while longer. I mean come on!" She dropped her face to the table as Daddy snickered.

"Nice job Caroline, what kept you from joining drama? You could have gotten the leads." Auntie smirked.

"You're accident prone and somebody needed to piece you back together." Daddy glared at her as Mom started giggling.

Daddy cleared his throat. "Anyways. I thought that I should bring up living arrangements. I love having the five of us all together in the lair but if three out of the five of us are going to be at Amity U then we should probably move our anchor point. I can't teleport us everywhere, all of the time. The University's on the other end of town. Casper High's in between Fenton Works and the University so it wouldn't be any more a fly for Dani if we moved our door. Would it be cool to move the door on campus?" My family all nodded. Aunt Jazz sighed and let out a choked sigh.

"What's wrong Auntie?" I asked immediately, alarmed at my Aunt's distress. She shook her head, dabbing her eyes with a napkin.

"Nothing's wrong Ghostly," she assured with a sniff, "I just realized that the crew grew up." Uncle Tucker shook his head and set a hand over Aunt Jazzy's mouth.

"No crying!" He called out. "There's no crying today! Jazz, just stop." Auntie Cara starting poking Aunt Jazz in the side and the ribs where Daddy had informed everyone that she was ticklish.

"Yeah Jazz. You can't cry! You can't!" Auntie Cara was laughing almost as hard as Aunt Jazz by the time that she finally stopped crying. Daddy had already scooped all of the trash off of the table and into the trash can, just watching everyone fool around.

Grandpa Jack scooped me up off of the booth without warning, placing me on his shoulders. "Come on crew! You can continue poking each other when we're at Fenton Works! With cake!"

Grandma Mads shook her head. "Jack, you just ate two Mighty Meaty Melts. You can eat the cake later."

Grandpa started to pout and I had to turn intangible so I wouldn't hit my head on the doorway as we walked out to the GAV. "But Maddie!" He whined.

"No Jack."

As soon as we were home everyone started rushing down to the lair, doing something that we hadn't gotten the time to do in the last couple of weeks. Moving. Daddy was actually moving things around the lair with his mind, making several new rooms. One of them was an office for working and homework, another was an actual Medical Bay for Auntie Cara. We all knew that we were going to need it with Daddy and me around here. The other was a room nobody got to go into until later. Auntie Cara was organizing her new medical bay. Every time Daddy tried to help her using his powers she glared at him until he backed off.

Mom and Aunt Jazz were carrying Daddy's things downstairs from his childhood bedroom that would be his as long as the Fenton's owned this house. Every time Mom and Auntie each carried a box downstairs, they would go through it right away. A lot of the stuff was being sent into a pile to get rid of because Daddy had already duplicated the objects with his mind.

Uncle Tuck, Grandma, and Grandpa were stocking a closet with the one thing that Daddy had forgotten when his mind made this place. Ghost weaponry. They took several trips, carrying only a couple of guns at a time so they wouldn't harm the ectoplasm inside.

I actually wasn't doing the moving. I had been told to sit and that's what I was doing. I had a sketchbook in my hands and a box of colored pencils in my lap as I started to clean up old drawings and sketch new ones. I smiled softly as I started inking a drawing of Mom and Auntie Cara. They were sitting upside down on the couch with goofy grins on their faces. Mom's hair had fallen out of her ponytail, spilling her inky hair over her face.

I started quickly, my ears catching something abnormal, whispering. I looked around and saw my Daddy with a hand cupping Mom's cheek. He had a soft smile on his cheek, and that little glint in his eyes that always let you know that he was hiding something. Even though the whispers were quiet, I could still pick them up.

"Come with me." Daddy breathed in Mom's ear. She sent him a look that clearly told him that there better not be any pranks before he nodded and covered her eyes. They walked off quietly, probably not wanting anyone to know that they were gone. I smirked as I flew over to Uncle Tucker.

"Do you want to spy on Mom and Daddy with me?" I asked, barely audible. Daddy was paying so much attention to Mom that there was no way that he would hear me. Uncle Tuck nodded with a grin and I put my hands on his shoulders, turning him both invisible and intangible so the only noise we would make would be from breathing. We watched Mom and Daddy and followed them to the door of the room Daddy wouldn't show anyone.

Instead of actually going into the room with them, Uncle Tuck and I stuck out heads through the door, watching from just outside the room.

"Danny," Mom groaned, an amused undertone lacing her voice. "What are we doing?" Daddy chuckled softly.

"Just open your eyes Sam." Mom removed Daddy's hands from her face and gasped. I quickly looked around the room, realizing that I had been so focused on my parents that I hadn't checked out the new room.

It was an art studio for Mom. The walls were painted a light silver and there was a window looking out into the zone. Sets of special drawing screens were set up on a table and there was a large, turning shelf that held pastels, paints, pencils like my own, and many other mediums. A grin flew across her face, lighting up the entire room. She pulled Daddy into a hug, hiding her face in his chest for a moment before looking back around the room.

"This is all for me?" She asked in shock, not because of the size of the room (even though the room was easily size of two bouncy castles set up next to each other) but because of the mass amount of thought that Daddy must have used to make the room. In more ways than one, this room was probably ten times harder than Auntie and Uncle's letters.

"It's all for you." Daddy conformed. Mom's lips enveloped Daddy's and I rolled my eyes, pulling my uncle away from the room as he sputtered at me pulling him away. I didn't doubt that he had been drooling over Mom's new art tech. I gently pushed him back over to Grandma and Grandpa as I made my way back to the couch.

I picked up my sketchbook and turned to a new page, starting to sketch out a picture that I'd almost been scared to draw. I smiled as two figures started to appear on the paper. A third person, much smaller than the other two, was stilling on the tallest figure's shoulders. The picture took form over the next half hour. I glanced up as the door opened again, my fingers still drawing despite the fact that I wasn't looking. My parents were walking back in with identical grins on their faces. Daddy was trying, and failing, to rub lipstick off of his face and neck. I giggled softly, making sure that I added three crowns to my drawing, despite the fact that Daddy and I were in human form.

I set my pencil down and leaned back into the plush couch, a slightly hysterical laugh bubbling from my lips as I watched my family move around. Daddy tripped as his ghost sense when off. He huffed as walked out of the lair to go see what the deal was. "What's up kiddo?" Aunt Jazz asked me as she plopped down beside me.

I shook my head with a grin. "Nothing, I'm just starting to realize how amazing my half-life is." Auntie ruffled my hair up.

"I can't disagree with that. Life's good, even with all of the weird around here." Auntie and I laughed.

**Oh Gosh. I finished. Holy Crap. I'm sitting here owl-eyes as I try to get my thoughts into the document. I started this story in the end of March 2013. It's the first week of July 2013. This story has taken my just a little over three months to write and I've fallen in love with it. To think that it started with a poke from my little brother that he missed the show. I want to thank everyone that's been reading this, it doesn't matter if you've been with me from the beginning or if you stumbled upon this recently, Thank You. My Special thanks go to Blak-Ice and SamXDanny. They have been reading since the begging and helped me with my bout of block for my tale. I hope to get the sequel started soon but it might be a month or so until I have anything out. Thank you Phans and while you're waiting, I have one-shots with tales from this universe. Check them out if you get bored. I'll see you at the sequel.**

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**What are you all still doing here? Like, seriously, dudes. Go and check out the 100 Themes Challenge or something. You're all just lurking. Dude! *SNORT* Later Phans.**


	30. Sequal!

**Okay Phans. It's late so lets cut to the chase. The next book is up! Revolution is the next in ROTP. Knock yourselves out. Have I mentioned how glad I am that this is 30 chapters instead of 29 now? That was driving me mad. Anyhoo, Later Phans.**


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